


Jaune Appetit

by Solvdrage



Category: RWBY
Genre: Cooking, Harem-ish, Multi, Remnant's Kitchen Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-12 17:15:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 53,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9081934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solvdrage/pseuds/Solvdrage
Summary: He wasn't the strongest, smartest or even the fastest, but if there was one thing Jaune Arc was confident in, it was his culinary skills. Jaune hoped that confidence would transfer to fighting Grimm. Armed with his father's support along with Crocea Mors, Jaune sets out to be a Huntsman Remnant could be proud of.





	1. Chapter 1

Captain Kale Colcannon stomped towards the galley of his airship looking for a number of his missing crew. The gruff airsman was aware that the Kingdoms had outlawed flogging pretty much the moment the guns had grown silent after the Great War. Still, he was strongly considering figuring out a way to bring the practice back. The _Silver Cirri_ was a fairly modern craft and only required a crew of twenty-four. Normally, Captain Colcannon would not have any issues with a member of the crew taking a little longer to get to his or her post.

The problem was that a good quarter of the crew was late. Good Captain Kale was suddenly assaulted by an overwhelming smell. Normally, on an airship that meant engine lubricants, exhaust, or if things really went to shite; fire. There was no such smells coming from the galley fortunately. Unfortunately, there was the sound of laughter and general merriment from his crew.

"Alright, yah useless manky gits, hi! Last time, Ai checked half-o ya lot were supposed to be at ya posts!"

The crew snapped to attention and had the good sense to look sheepish in the face of their captain's anger. Kale felt a little better. He might not flog them after all.

"An' you with the head on ya! I know ya ain't in my crew. What in the Holy Fartha's name are you doing in me galley?"

A gulp escaped the young man's throat as he slowly turned from the stove. Captain Kale had heard most of his crew gulp at one point or another. This lad wasn't nervous. Poor sod was trying not to vomit on the pan of food he was carrying.

"I-I'm Jaune Arc...and I...am trying to distract myself from my motion sickness," the young blond-haired passenger confessed. He was wearing a well-polished set of steel-blue trimmed white armor over a black hoodie. This Jaune kid had a sword and sheath attached to a loose fitting belt along with a properly fitting brown leather belt holding up his jeans.

"Is that boxty?" the Captain asked while leveling a glare at the boy.

"W-Wrapped around some of the beef you all had left...and a side of...squash," Jaune revealed.

Kale stomped across the galley to the swaying teen. "Ya think ya know me?"

"I-I've never met you before."

"How'd ya choose to cook my favorite meal?" The captain asked accusingly.

Jaune chuckled nervously. "Who doesn't love boxty?"

"Bloody Culchies fer one," Kale said with deadly seriousness. Jaune nervously offered a plate. The crew waited with baited breath as their crotchety commander sat down. He produced his flask, said a quick prayer, and then took a bite. "DOG'S BOLLOCKS!"

"Dogs...bollocks?" Jaune turned to one of the crew.

A Faunus, marked by his boar liked tusks, laughed deep and long. "He likes it. You've won him over just as easily as you tricked the rest of us into liking you."

"Yay me?"

"Boyo," Captain Kale, along with a good chunk of the crew, followed Jaune towards the public part of the ship. "I know ya got yer heart set on Beacon, but we'd set ya up with a Nickser. Besides, ya probably went to one of them Combat 'Cademies. You'd be right useful in a donnybrook."

Jaune was flattered. It was really nice to make a positive impression, but he was really set on going to Beacon. His dream was not to be a cook, but a Huntsman. Cooking was just his hobby. Jaune's skill in the kitchen wasn't going to change the world. Learning how to wield Crocea Mors and defending his family from Grimm as a Huntsman would.

"I'm...honored, but I can't exactly _drop out of Beacon,"_ the Arc protested. "I haven't even gotten there yet!"

"Just consider it!" One of the human crew members pleaded.

Jaune turned to face the crew and began walking backwards. "Sure, if the whole huntsman thing doesn't work out. Which it will, because I gave my word to my sisters and an Arc never goes back on his word, I'll consider it!"

Unfortunately, the Huntsman-to-be was not paying attention to the milling crowd looking out over the approach to Vale. Jaune collided with something very large. The push and growl the cook received shortly after the initial impact also confirmed that the thing was angry.

"What do you think you're doing?" The very tall and well-armored Beacon applicant snarled.

"Saying...goodbye?" Jaune sounded hopeful that the new guy's intelligence was inversely proportional to his size.

"I think you'll be saying goodbye to a few teeth," the large slab of jerk declared.

A series of meaty 'twacks' and grumbles erupted from the crew. The boar Faunus took a step forward. "I'd like to see you try, jackass."

The large man snorted. "As if I'd listen to an animal..."

"Oi! That's not cool! Faunus are people!"

A crowd was gathering around the outburst. Jaune was quite pleased to see a couple of pretty girls paying attention to his outburst. He could get used to that. Jaune's confidence swelled at the attention and smacked his unruly stomach into place. "You're outnumbered. We can walk away from this without anyone getting arrested, beaten, or in any kind of trouble."

"You're even dumber than the tusks over there. I'd listen to a Grimm before someone who looks like they are about to blow chunks..."

"Maybe you'll listen to me, ya right bastard," Kale took a step forward. His face a mask of anger the crew had only seen twice. Both times...well...both times Kale had been banned from Atlas... "Ya think you can come on-ta my airship and be a racist clipe to my crew? Not on yer nelly! Spit any of that racist tripe at my crew, I will toss yer sorry ass out the nearest window with a smile on my face!"

A smirk was forming on the prospective student, but it died the second Colcannon produced a very large war ax seemingly out of nowhere. The twin TASER nodes promised excoriating pain. A huff heralded the 'big man' exiting stage right.

"We'll be arrivin' at Beacon soon, Boyo," Colcannon turned to address Jaune. "I'll be giving you yer one time head start. If me crew or I find you, I swear we are Shanghai'ing you."

"S-Shanghai?" Jaune squawked. That almost sounded like murder...or kidnapping. Either way, it would mean the odds of following up on his impressive display of bravery with the various ladies of Beacon would be as realistic as his transcripts.

"We'll kidnap you and force you to be our new cook," 'Tusks' translated.

This might be the most polite kidnapping attempt in the joint history of humanity and the Faunus. They even gave him a head-start.

"As great as you all are...I really want to go to Beacon," Jaune reaffirmed with a backwards head-nod towards a collection of girls.

Kale and the crew laughed. "At least we know his _head_ is in the right place!" A human crewman in the back shouted. Jaune couldn't miss the innuendo. Unfortunately, most of the ladies couldn't either.

 _'I'll worry about that later...time to run!'_ Jaune decided. "Hey, a mountain!"

"You idiots!" Colcannon cried out instinctively. "If we are behind schedule, I swear my boot will be so far yup yer arses!"

The distraction worked marvelously and Jaune disappeared into the crowd. This was a new experience for the young man. Usually his cooking led to good feelings, a few lien, and general fun times. Declared intent to kidnap him was definitely not expected.

Jaune knew he was likely screwed. Colcannon and his crew knew the ship better than Jaune could even imagine. That big slab of asshole from earlier would turn him over in a second. He'd probably follow it up with some stupid comment. At least in that scenario, Jaune would get to see him thrown out of a window.

Still, he'd rather not be caught at all. Jaune slipped around a corner and heard a 'psst' for his attention. A pair of Faunus, canine twin brothers from the looks of it, motioned for him.

"You meant what you said about Faunus?" One asked. Jaune simply nodded.

The other twin pointed down a hall. "We'll cover for you. There are some rooms down that way."

"Thanks! You guys rock! I'll pay you back somehow!"

"Don't mention it!" Jaune heard the twin boys shout. He wasn't really paying attention to the Faunus but still waved in thanks. There was not a lot of open doors for Jaune to duck into, but he still jimmied the handles. Occasionally, he got a cry of 'Go Away,' or a groan. It was somewhat disheartening, but at least that implied he wasn't the only one who suffered from the accursed condition known as motion sickness.

Jaune wasn't proud of forming a one-sided solidarity with others suffering in misery like he was.

But it made him feel better...so there.

The mental mention of his _condition_ caused a heaving in his gut. In a moment of common sense Jaune was very proud of, he grabbed a nearby bagged waste-bucket. He paused in front of a door that was slightly open.

"Um, excuse me..." Jaune called out.

"What?" A quiet girl's voice called back.

Jaune sighed. "This is a very weird request, but could I hide here for a bit? The crew of the airship...is... _well_ planning on kidnapping me."

The room's occupant opened the door. Her yellow eyes bored into Jaune's blue eyes. The pretty girl's long black hair, topped by a bow, framed a face that looked absolutely disbelieving. "Kidnap you?"

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed. "I cooked them a meal to distract myself from my motion sickness...they liked it a bit."

"Enough to kidnap you?" The girl crossed her arms in front of her and practically repeated her question. Jaune desperately tried to keep his attention on her face and not her incredibly toned body...or her incredibly ample _assets_...or her exposed midriff. Or... _'Focus man!'_ Jaune ordered himself.

"Yeah," Jaune repeated his current favorite word. "So, can I hide here for a second until I get my bearings? I'm, uh, Jaune by the way..."

"Blake," the girl said neutrally. It was an attempt to be semi-polite. "How long will that take?"

The fugitive leaned backwards, despite an ill quiver in his stomach, and caught sight of a very enthusiastic thumbs-up from one of his canine friends. "Not long, hopefully."

Still, Jaune knew he needed some other carrot to get out of this situation. He peered over Blake's shoulder and saw his 'in'.

"If you let me in, I can get you an autograph copy of Grise Fourneau's next book before it drops. Not his cookbook, but his travel memoir..."

Blake raised an eyebrow and for a second, Jaune swore her bow twitched. He shook that thought off as it was probably due to the combination of panic and motion sickness.

"How would you pull that off?" She asked as she stepped aside.

Jaune slipped inside and chose a place where he could see the door, but not really be seen easily. "I...know him personally."

"Deal," she flashed the most microscopic smile Jaune had ever seen. The Arc thought it suited her though. He fished the airship guide out of his pocket and started studying. Jaune cast a glance up every once and a while. Occasionally, Blake would fidget with the buckle on the odd detached right sleeve she wore. She was constantly reading. It was impossible to miss how much she seemed to enjoy reading. That was without noticing the two boxes labeled 'books'.

"You, uh, have a bunch of different kinds of books," Jaune tried to end the somewhat awkward silence permeating the small room. "Fiction or non-fiction?"

"Fiction," Blake replied.

Jaune smiled. He preferred fiction too. "Escapism?"

The girl's smile was microscopic again, but it appeared to be a cross between wistful and melancholy this time. "You could say that. Let me guess, fiction prepared you for your escape from the scary airship crew."

"You _have_ met the captain right?" The book fan shook her head, but was clearly amused. Jaune had almost forgotten about his rebellious stomach when a jolt ruined the moment. The door began to open and a familiar (at least to Jaune) fist knocked on the frame.

"Who is it now?" Blake grumbled.

"We're friends of your buddy. Dalm is trying to distract some of the crew. They are heading this way," one of the Canine Faunus twins from earlier.

Jaune bolted up and grabbed his bucket and map. "Thanks," he said quickly to his still unnamed buddy. Turning towards Blake, he rested his left palm on his stomach as he bowed. "Thanks, Blake. I'll, uh...see you around?"

_'Good, don't sound too desperate. And if you do, blame it on motion sickness!'_

There wasn't much of a verbal response, but Jaune did receive an amused wave. He quickly made his way out of the room. "Which way is your brother?"

"Dalm is that way," the Faunus revealed.

"Tell him thanks!" Jaune once again shouted over his shoulder. The next couple of minutes were a blur of ducking into boltholes, cradling his bucket as if it was a life preserver, and hoping the next hiding place would come equipped with another very pretty girl.

There was a crowd of students up ahead. It almost looked like some were blocking another group.

Oh god.

They were blocking another group! Jaune panicked, but didn't scream out or worse...throw up. Clutching his savior tightly, he caught sight of a possible safe place.

And it also proved that there _was_ some kind of benevolent higher power.

Yet another beautiful woman was standing next to a great hiding spot. This young woman carried herself differently from Blake. Jaune could tell both girls carried themselves gracefully. The new girl had a regal grace as opposed to Blake's athletic grace. Chromatically, they were opposites. The absolutely gorgeous woman standing around an equally gorgeous line-of-sight blocking fortress of luggage was wearing an ice-blue jacket and mini-dress combination. The dress had a flared skirt and the jacket had equally flared sleeves.

Fortune favors the bold!

"Excuse me, miss," Jaune jogged over to the bored looking beauty. Her ice-blue hair, coincidentally the exact same shade as her clothes, _swished_ as she turned to face the hunted individual.

"What?"

 _'Okay, evidently beautiful women don't talk much...'_ Jaune theorized. "I need your help. Can I hide behind your luggage? I promise that I will work out some kind of fair exchange for keeping me from being kidnapped. Oh, my name is Jaune, by the way."

"Jaune," the girl rolled the word around her mouth like it was something she just freed from between her teeth. "You're telling me that the ridiculous rumor about the crew trying to kidnap a student is true? And that the student isn't me...or the other incredibly famous person on board?"

"There's...actual famous people on board?"

The look Jaune received was so flat that the Airship could have landed on it. "Yes, _My_ name is Weiss Schnee."

"Your family wouldn't happen to own the TV channel would it?"

"Hmph! Among _other things!_ Like most of the Dust mines on Remnant!" Weiss announced proudly.

"That's amazing and I'm sure you're even more so," Jaune said with smoothness born of _absolute terror_ of being abducted. "But I really, really don't want to be kidnapped. I'll work out a deal if you let me hide until this hallway clears."

"Are you really being kidnapped because of your cooking?" Weiss asked with practiced indifference. The Arc teenager nodded frantically. "When we get to Beacon, you are making me a Blueberry Custard Tart."

That...was actually something he could do... "Are you allergic to almonds...or do you prefer lemon?"

"Lemon," Weiss snapped and motioned to the pile of luggage.

Jaune clasped Weiss's hands in his own. "You are like some kind of snow angel!" Quickly gathering his stalwart companion...his waste-bucket...Jaune dived into the pile of luggage. He was confident that he wasn't visible, but was still terrified as he heard the voice of the human who made the crack about Jaune thinking with his _other_ head earlier.

"Miss Schnee...I hope your flight has been pleasant..."

"Adequate," Weiss said imperiously. "Is something the matter?"

A second voice Jaune didn't recognize started with a cough. "The crew is actually trying to kidnap a guy. He's a _really, really_ good cook. Even The Captain liked the guy. Our captain...kinda hates everyone."

"Seriously?!" Weiss gaped. "First off, I have not conversed with anyone yet. Until recently, I was in my assigned room. Your captain's announcement led me to believe we were landing soon." A pause. "Are you telling me that the Captain lied in a shameful attempt to draw this unfortunate young man out?"

The two crewmen scuffed their feet. "Yes..."

"Shameful! Secondly, I would not be party to a kidnapping! Away with you!" The pissed off princess voice worked wonderfully and the crewmen scampered off. Confident they were out of sight, Weiss wrapped her knuckles on the metal frame of dolly number three. "They are gone."

"I'm making you _two_ tarts," Jaune swore as he flashed Weiss a double thumbs up. The heiress rolled her eyes, but the world's stealthiest cook was sure he saw a tiny bit of a smile. Once again taking up his trifecta of survival equipment; both halves of Crocea Mors and Waste Bucket, Jaune proceeded down the hall in epic ninja-like fashion.

Jaune managed to avoid a few crewmen as he slinked through the ship's passages. He routinely rested his hand on the hilt of Crocea Mors. There was no way in whatever hell the Grimm crawled out of he was going to attack anyone, but the tic helped calm his nerves. After a tense minute or two, the two crewmen stomped off complaining about 'being doomed to shitty food forever'.

The squire of the Waste Bucket dashed around a corner, desperate to move in the opposite direction of the crew. For the second time today, he crashed into another person. Jaune was the larger of the two bodies crashing into each other this time. His momentum also drove the smaller figure to the ground with a shocked 'Eep!'

"See Ruby! I told you that you would make friends at Beacon! I just didn't expect you to make a _friend_ this quick!"

Jaune's vision was shrouded in darkness, but he could make texture. It was almost velvet like. It was also cupping his face. With the slowness of the utterly mortified, Jaune looked up. He was staring into a pair of silver eyes in a face that was blushing a shade of crimson that made the red cloak around the girl's shoulders look muted.

"Oops?"

"O-Oops..." the younger girl agreed as Jaune scrambled to his feet.

The other feminine voice belonged to a girl that was roughly Jaune's age. She was a head shorter than Jaune. Long blonde hair spilled across her back. The cook wasn't sure which of the hot girl's smiles were brighter, the one on her lips or the one in her lilac eyes. It was if her face couldn't contain her mirth...just like the tiny piece fabric masquerading as a shirt or her brown padded leather jacket couldn't contain her...other assets.

"Yaaaaaang," the girl, who Jaune assumed was Ruby, whined. "This is why I prefer weapons! They don't make things this awkward!"

"Oh you poor innocent angel," Yang cooed as she looked her friend/sister/whatever-it-was-it-was-close and Jaune over. "If I ever take you to Junior's, you would probably combust."

"Isn't that the Club you wrecked in a huge brawl and nearly crushed a mobster's balls in?" Ruby asked as she rested her fists on her hips right below her corset. Jaune instinctively shifted to protect his family-legacy-extension-devices.

"Like I said, you poor innocent angel..." Yang continued her teasing. She ran her finger-less gloved hands through her hair. Her eyes flicked over to Jaune. "So, are you running from or towards something?"

"From the crew of this airship towards safety," Jaune confessed. "I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

Ruby had somehow produced a red metallic object from behind her flowing cape. She was cradling it as if it was a child. "Wait...the crew is _actually_ trying to kidnap you? I thought that was a joke."

"Nope, I've had a few close calls. I _really_ want to go to Beacon."

The buxom blonde grinned. "That's where we are heading."

"Can you help a guy out? I think I hear footsteps..." Jaune wasn't too proud to beg.

Yang put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You have given me enough teasing ammo to drive my sister crazy for months! You're also not a racist, if what I've heard is true. You _aren't_ a racist are you?"

Jaune gulped. "Two of my best friends are Faunus." Now, obviously wasn't the time to mention two facts. First, he only knew one of his 'best' friends' names. Second, he had met them only during this chaotic 'World's Worst Hide and Seek Game' escapade.

 _'Okay, maybe not the worst...I have met_ a lot _of very pretty girls. Even Ruby has this adorkable thing going for her...'_

"Good enough for me!" Yang beamed. "Now get in that box!"

Jaune, hearing a couple of crew members shouting about Jaune possibly being in 'that' direction, quickly complied.

"Now Ruby...I know you've wanted to tell me about all those adjustment you've made to Crescent Rose," the blonde was having a potentially dangerous amount of fun.

Jaune was also having a potentially dangerous cure for his motion sickness. The gentle back and forth of both Yang and Ruby's hips was quite distracting.

"Stand right here and tell me all about it..." the elder sister drew out the words. "Right now!"

A fervent whispered prayer escaped Jaune's lips as he saw 'Crescent Rose' extended into an absolutely giant Scythe. If Ruby or Yang had a Semblance that allowed them to read minds, he would probably see how effective the well maintained blade of the weapon was. Jaune was pretty sure that Crescent Rose was also a gun...but neither sister struck him as crazy enough to fire a gun that big in an airship.

Ruby seemed to be too focused on chattering the details of her 'precious, adorable, absolutely dead killy' baby to focus on anything else. Jaune caught the glimpse of a trio of Faunus crew members backing away from the petite girl with the weapon bigger than anyone in the hall.

"Waste Bucket, my friend, remind me never to piss off a Huntress..." Jaune whispered to his protector.

"Alrighty, Fugitive...Ruby's enthusiasm has scared off the crew. Better make yourself scarce. Oh, and don't mind Ruby...she'll be like that for a while," Yang explained.

"Thanks, I owe you both a lot. I'll make it up to you when we get to Beacon." Jaune pulled himself clear from the box.

"I'll hold you to that," the blonde grinned mischievously.

Jaune dashed down the hall, hopefully to safety... "Thanks Yang and Ruby! Your weapon is awesome, Ruby!"

In his hasty escape, he missed Ruby's blush return and Yang unleash the most merciless teasing assault in human history.

"We've got it narrowed down to this part of the ship!" A voice Jaune quickly recognized as Tusks yelled out in the distance. "Cap'n Colcannon says whoever nabs Jaune gets a 30% bonus on his next payday!"

"Shiiiiiiiiiii!" Jaune snapped as he frantically looked for a haven. There was a side passage that was oddly empty. "Why is this airship so huge?"

As Jaune's companions Crocea Mors and Waste Bucket were mute, no one answered the perfectly reasonable question. He threw himself through the nearest open door. For once, blindly charging into a situation didn't result with colliding with someone. Instead, he slid perfectly under an unoccupied bed.

A dozen footfalls echoed in the hallway. "I swore he went this way!"

"You're drunk, Uchafu! The only thing down this way is Pyrrha Nikos's room. I really don't feel like getting my ass kicked by 'The Invincible Girl'."

"Good point," Uchafu admitted.

Jaune waited a few moments before rolling out from under the bed. As he lay on his back, the Arc realized he was slack-jawed again. Outside Dalm and his brother, everyone who had helped Jaune evade the crew had been an insanely pretty girl.

The streak lived on.

Jaune was staring up at an armored redhead beauty. Fortunately, Jaune was at an awkward angle which prevented an even more awkward line of sight.

"Hello," she said tentatively.

"Thanks for not yelling when you saw me dive under the bed," Jaune said lamely. "I really don't want to be kidnapped."

"K-Kidnapped?" Pretty Girl #5 gasped.

Jaune rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. "The crew really liked my cooking. They want to kidnap me, but were nice enough to give me a head-start."

"The other passengers mentioned being jealous of seeing what the crew was eating. I assume that was your responsibility?"

Jaune smiled at the girl decked out in red and bronze armor. "I was trying to distract myself from motion sickness, and it wasn't my finest meal ever, but...I made a half-decent meal for the crew."

"Motion sickness? My mother gets motion sick and believes everyone else does too. I have something you can take," the woman...who in Jaune's mind was now a Saint...offered. This incredible human being did not wait for Jaune to protest, thank her, or offer any sort of verbal retort. Her green eyes sparkled when she returned. "Try this."

The liquid was viscous and the third worst thing Jaune had ever tasted. The bad taste was evident on Jaune's face as it contorted into something that probably would have terrified a Griffon.

"I'm sorry," the unnamed girl said solemnly. "I am confident that it will help!"

Jaune nodded and after a minute or two...was amazed that he felt _human_ again. "You...you are the _best person ever..."_

The girl's blush gave Ruby's a run for its money. Jaune continued before she had a chance to respond with words. "I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

"Hello again, the warrior greeted with a happy wave. "My name is Pyrrha."

"Well, Pyrrha...it is nice to meet the greatest person alive, the slayer of motion sickness, and she-who-does-not-let-her-new-friend-be-kidnapped-by-screaming-when-they-dive-under-her-bed." Jaune bowed with Remnant's most perfect combination of humor and sincerity.

At least in his opinion.

"What did you cook for the crew?" Pyrrha had somehow pulled up a chair while asking the question.

Jaune received permission to take a seat and sat on the edge of Pyrrha's bed. "They don't exactly have the best ingredients, but..."

The conversation flowed fairly easily. Jaune managed to pull a few details out of Pyrrha, mostly food related as that seemed to be the topic of the day.

"Tacos?" Jaune rolled the word over his tongue as he repeated it. "Regular or something a bit more exotic?"

"I'm not sure I follow, sorry," Pyrrha apologized.

"Instead of ground beef or chicken. Something fun like mahi or pulled pork," Jaune explained.

Pyrrha opened her mouth, but a knock at the door cut her off. Jaune wasn't entirely sure when the door had been closed. Or how long he had been chatting with Pyrrha.

"Excuse me." Jaune nodded at Pyrrha. She really was incredibly polite. Odds are she wasn't even trying to be polite. There was a sinking feeling that gripped Jaune as Pyrrha opened the door. "May I help you?"

"Miss Nikos, _ma'am,_ Captain Colcannon is aware that one Jaune Arc is currently in this part of the ship...He wouldn't happen to be in your room would he?"

Jaune sighed. He actually liked Tusks. The Boar Faunus was actually a nice guy and a good story teller. Why did _he_ have to be leading the effort to kidnap him? _'Probably for that reason...'_

"And if he is?" Pyrrha asked with politeness that sounded absolutely dangerous.

"We ask that you turn him over. The Captain...and crew...are pretty adamant he stick with us," Tusks put forth. "Look, we can work out a deal. Give him up or convince him to sign on and we'll go pro-bono on all future trips. Room and board and everything."

"Room and board," Pyrrha sounded very similar to Weiss in that moment. "You come to me...ask me to give my friend over to slavery...in exchange for free airship tickets?"

"I wouldn't say slavery..." Tusks wasn't exactly convincing. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"Then you should have chosen your words with far more care. Good day sir," Pyrrha actually snapped at the man. She closed the door a bit more harshly than Jaune was expecting.

"Thanks. It looks like you are stuck with me until we arrive at Beacon though," Jaune thanked the beautiful and strong willed woman.

He wasn't sure who he had to thank for this trip, but he was going to thank _someone_ for this. If it wasn't for the kidnapping attempts, this would pretty much be Jaune's example of an ideal day. He had met multiple insanely hot women. Pyrrha had given him the perfect weapon against motion sickness. Weiss had given him an excuse to try out a recipe Jaune had just been waiting for the best opportunity to use. Blake had a library that could possibly serve as inspiration for meals. Yang...hadn't murdered him for basically motor-boating her little sister.

All in all, a really good day.

"I do not mind at all. Your company has been refreshing, Jaune." Pyrrha was beaming. Jaune was feeling mighty pleased with himself, but a niggling feeling that Pyrrha was familiar was cropping up.

Jaune and Pyrrha had several moments of pleasant conversation. Until the topic of Mistral-style frying or Vale-style frying came up. Once again, the crew came up with the worsts times to try to kidnap a guy.

"Lass! This is Cap'n Colcannon! I need ta talk with ya."

_'Oh wow. Ol' Kale himself came here. We're probably close to Beacon and he's probably desperate.'_

Jaune watched with a tiny bit of feigned reluctance as Pyrrha leaned down and grabbed her bronze shield. She strode across the room. Jaune wasn't entirely sure if the ticking noise was the small clock on top of her suitcase or the heels that made her nearly equal his height.

"What is there to talk about?" Pyrrha asked as Colcannon opened the door.

"Lass, dat fein has done more fer me crew's morale in an hour than any pay-raise I've given the sorry lot!" Colcannon said with conviction. The three protagonists in the situation pointedly ignored Tusks and a human crew member ask each other "What pay raise?"

"You want him? Come and take him!" Pyrrha declared and slid into a fighting stance. Jaune heard an undercurrent of 'MINE' in Pyrrha's voice. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be worried or proud of the impact he made on a girl he just met.

"Damn. Ain't you an oul battleaxe." Colcannon laughed. "Looks like we lost this one, mates! Let's head above deck. Ain't none a' ya tough a'nuff ta take on 'The Invincible Girl'."

The crew reluctantly retreated. Jaune simply watched Pyrrha spin around. He could almost feel the adrenaline bleed off the redhead.

"I...I'm not sure what came over me there," Pyrrha gushed. "That...was unexpected."

"I would have done the same," Jaune admitted truthfully and causally. His shrug once again caused him to miss the second salvo in the undeclared Blush One-up-man-ship War between Ruby and Pyrrha.

"Thank you, Jaune." The Invincible Girl could scarcely believe the entire exchange. "And to answer your earlier question...mahi sounds _grand."_

Jaune was thrilled to be back on solid ground. Even better, he had made it to Beacon! This was the next step on his dream of being a protector! He still remembered the first step; the day his Dad had awakened his Aura.

 _'I've never seen Mom that mad...'_ Jaune recalled, but the memory was something he had with his dad that went beyond anything. It was a symbol that Dad had believed in Jaune's dream when almost no one else would. That really made the divorce Jaune's parents went through even harder on the sole Arc son. He was still a bit upset that his last name couldn't have both parent's last names.

 _'Nothing I can really do about that,'_ Jaune sighed as he remembered two promises. One was to Blake and the other was to his dad. _'Might as well kill two birds with one stone.'_

The Arc Knight whipped out his Scroll and fired off a message to his Dad.

"Boyo! Don't worry, I an' tha crew won't Shanghai ya. Imma man o' me word," Captain Colcannon announced his presence. He extended his hand, which Jaune accepted. "Keep in touch, Boyo. You've got a good head on yer shoulders."

"Thanks, Captain." Jaune grinned.

"Wheeker, Boyo!" Colcannon shouted and roughly turned Jaune around. "Is that how ya avoided the lads?"

Jaune wasn't sure what Colcannon meant at first. Until he saw Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang, Weiss, and Blake approaching from several directions. There was a moment were Jaune nearly called out to his new friends. That moment quickly died as the girls paused and started sizing each other up.

"Is...something up?"

"Aye, Boyo," Colcannon confirmed. "Yer in for a quare geg four years..."

"I'm probably doomed," Jaune sighed with resignation even though he didn't have the slightest clue what the hell Colcannon just said.

Kale laughed uproariously. "Worse ways ta go than being caught up in that competition!"

"Yeah, definitely facing certain doom," Jaune decided. "But hey, isn't it the job of a Huntsman to tell impending doom to go to hell?"

"Damn right," Colcannon readily agreed. This time, the Captain was not bombastic. His tone was almost reverent. "You're a good man, Boyo. Keep in touch...and stay alive."

The young Huntsman and the aged Captain parted ways. Striding down the gangplank, Jaune felt as if he was walking towards destiny. Jaune Arc was confident he could handle anything Remnant threw at him in that moment.

At least until Ruby sneezed and everything exploded.

His parents, in differing ways, had warned him Beacon would be...interesting. Jaune was beginning to realize just how 'interesting' things would get.

He couldn't wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby Rose was torn between considering today incredibly awkward, awesome, and well...she wasn't entirely sure what was about to happen earlier. She and Yang had seen Jaune talking with the airship captain. The Reaper had been worried that the awkward meeting would have been pointless and wasn't running in a panic, but _walking briskly,_ towards their acquaintance. Yang had immediately started teasing her about being so eager to 'save' Jaune again.

Things then got...complicated. It seems that Jaune had made other friends on the airship. Friends who happened to all be other girls. Ruby knew she was a tiny bit naïve. Yang used that fact to mess with her endlessly. Granted, most of that time was also an attempt to get Ruby to come with Yang to some of the more tame places she hung out with. Or to get Ruby to commiserate with her circle-of-not-quite-friends at Signal. So, despite her naivety, Ruby was very aware of the knot growing in her stomach.

It wasn't worry or nerves. It was the same feeling she got right before a competition where she got to show off her lovely baby, Crescent Rose.

After a...confrontation...with a dolly full of luggage and the resulting sneeze and Dust induced explosion, Ruby was now considering letting Crescent Rose take the lead in the current conversation.

 _'What the heck is going on?'_ Ruby mentally wailed. She had only just met these people...and Jaune.

"I don't even know any of you! Other than Yang," Ruby shouted. The sudden outburst made the socially awkward teen realize just how socially awkward she really was. As she glanced between the assembled Beacon Students, she pressed her index fingers together worryingly.

Evidently, it was a tic she shared with her mother.

"Why weren't you watching where you were going?" The girl who's every detail screamed ice questioned.

"Well, I," Ruby started.

Yang felt a twitch above her eye. The elder daughter of Taiyang was pretty sure there would be flecks of red coloring her eyes too. "Hey, back off my sister!"

"It appeared to be an accident to me," Pyrrha Nikos stepped forward. "It also appears we are all...concerned about one Jaune Arc."

The mention of Jaune caused everyone to drop their arguments or come to a complete halt. Ten eyes slowly rotated towards Jaune's perch on the ship's gangplank.

* * *

"Atian! He's over here!" Jaune vaguely recognized Dalm calling out to his twin as he found himself in quite the situation. He wasn't sure why all five of his new...very pretty...female friends suddenly turned their attention in his direction.

"Jaune! Glad to see you made to Beacon!" Dalm shouted. The Canine Faunus reached Jaune with a grin and an extended fist. Jaune did the proper bro-thing and pounded it.

"Wouldn't have made it without you or your brother!" Jaune praised his new friends.

Atian came to a near skidding halt. His black and white tail swished behind him. "Dude, you realize you've got some...attention down there?"

Jaune sighed. "So I've been told. Seriously, I just met them like I met you guys."

"Ha! Dude, you've made an impression on the ladies!" Atian continued.

"This looks like the character select screen of DOR," Dalm observed casually.

"The what now?" Jaune fished for clarification with the eloquence of a million playwrights.

Dalm and Atian gave the Chef-and-Huntsman in training a look that nearly rivaled Weiss's world champion level flat glare. "DOR...the MOBA...most popular video game on the planet? Sixteen million people every week..."

"Uh, sure." Jaune looked from the Faunus Twins to the collection of girls and back. "What's a MOBA?"

Dalm and Atain shook their heads. A shout from Yang ended any further video game discussion. It also saved Jaune from his ignorance. That being said, Jaune wouldn't exactly consider himself saved from anything at the moment.

"Genetlemen," the word that escaped Jaune's mouth was drawn out and nearly forlorn. "I was glad to have met you. If there is anything left of me to bury, please make sure it gets to my dad for the funeral."

"Jaune?" The Twins asked as their new human friend saluted resolutely. A second indignant retort filled the air. The situation with the girls was growing tense.

"He is a brave son of a bitch," Atian grumbled.

Jaune did not hear a word of the twin's exchange. He was more focused on preventing the situation with his girl friends from devolving into a brawl that could possibly end their careers at Beacon. If Jaune was honest, he would admit he had no idea what the standards the school even had. There had been...strings...pulled to help get him into Beacon.

"Ladies!" Jaune called out in a tone that he hoped wasn't a shout of panic. "I'd like to thank you all for your help in keeping me from being abducted by the very...unique Captain Kale Colcannon."

The power keg was plugged for a moment. Jaune put on his best smile. He was sure that it was far more roguish and appealing now that he wasn't desperately clinging to his savior; Waste Bucket.

"Hey Fugitive," Yang greeted casually.

"Hello, again!" Pyrrha was far less subtle in her excitement at Jaune's arrival.

"Ladies," Jaune repeated his greeting with a polite and semi-humorous half-bow.

A blush that was slowly approaching the color of her cape dusted Ruby's cheeks. "Hey...Jaune. I'm glad you weren't kidnapped. That, well, I definitely would have been not cool."

"Very not cool," Jaune agreed. "Opposite of all of you _and_ Crescent Rose."

Jaune had just added that as an afterthought, but Ruby looked about ready to 'glomp' him. The very amused look from Yang and the challenging look from Weiss forced Ruby to hold her ground. The sole male active in the confrontation continued with a smile.

"I know a small explosion like that didn't even phase any of you extremely talented huntresses, but no one's stuff was singed was it?"

"My books are fine." Blake's voice made it clear that there would have been hell to pay if her books had been damaged.

"There was not any...significant damage. Still, Dust has the potential to be very dangerous if not treated with respect!" Weiss added.

As Jaune lifted his hands to placate the heiress, a certain familiar and slightly unwelcome sensation fell over the Arc Huntsman-in-training. The situation reminded Jaune of when there was only a single piece of his dad's Chocolate Apocalypse Cake left. That situation would normally be cause for Jaune to beat a hasty retreat due to the brewing war between his sisters. Jaune suddenly knew how the Chocolate Apocalypse Cake felt. _He_ was undoubtedly the piece of cake in this situation.

 _'At least they are looking at me like I'm delicious cake and not what I left in that one bathroom floor back on the airship...'_ Jaune mentally congratulated himself.

"Shouldn't we...head to our dorms, Jaune?" Ruby's question was practically drowning in puppy-like eagerness.

"Actually," Pyrrha responded with a level of politeness that bordered on horrifying. "We have a welcoming ceremony in the main auditorium."

"Hate to burst your bubble, sis, but we won't get dorms until teams are assigned," Yang added.

Jaune coughed. "Does anyone actually know where we are supposed to go?"

Weiss and Pyrrha exchanged pleased looks. "Follow us," Weiss announced.

"Take the lead, ladies!" Jaune announced. The Schnee Heiress took the lead and began lecturing everyone on her family's contributions to Beacon. Pyrrha quickly fell in beside Jaune with a gentle smile on her lips. There was an unusual gust of wind that heralded a flurry of rose petals.

 _'A Semblance?'_ Jaune thought before noticing that Ruby had somehow materialized on his left. She was nodding in time with a tune she was humming.

"Soo~," Ruby drew out the word dramatically. "I'm a weapons geek. What do your weapons do?"

Jaune nodded politely at Pyrrha, unaware that giving her the go-ahead was the exact opposite of what Ruby was aiming for. The Invincible Girl had an inkling of Ruby's intent, but honestly respected the younger teen's skills if they allowed Ruby to enter Beacon so early. Pyrrha smiled at the other girl. "My shield is known as Akoúo̱. It is simply a Hoplon Shield. Miló is a Transformation-type weapon with a Javelin form, a Xiphos or short-sword form, and finally a battle rifle form."

The younger Huntress made pleased sounds as she observed the weapon. Her main objective may have been 'deflected', but she got to see a new weapon. Ruby mostly thought that meeting new weapons was like meeting people, but _better_. Pyrrha's weapons were championship winners. Ruby's trained eye noticed that the weapons were exceptionally well cared for. The younger girl could tell that her older 'rival' was a perfectionist. It would make this little back and forth more difficult, but fun.

"You use a Dust-based cleaning oil...Class 2?" Ruby hummed the question as she peered at the Rifle Form's chamber.

"I am surprised you could tell with just a look," the Hoplite praised her younger rival. Pyrrha had no intention of losing and flashed a deceptively friendly smile at Ruby.

Ruby rebounded nicely and countered with a sickly sweet smile. Quickly, it lost it's exaggerated nature. "Class 2 is designed for standard round. The residue at the end of your barrel shows that you use Dust Rounds. You'll want Class 3."

Jaune was oblivious to the secret competition between the two girls. He only picked up that Pyrrha and Ruby seemed to be getting along.

"What about you, Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Ah, I've just got an heirloom from my family. Crocea Mors. It stabs, slices, and has a shield that bashes and blocks. Oh! The shield collapses into a sheath." Jaune held up his heirloom. "Doesn't have a gun though."

"It's fine! A lot of people don't have a lot of respect for the classics." Ruby nodded emphatically.

"Heirloom weapons are to be respected, it is true," Pyrrha agreed. "I could help you refine your sword and shield technique if you would like."

"Sure, that'd be great," Jaune readily agreed. As the group reached the auditorium, Ruby shot Pyrrha a look that was the most reluctant concession ever. Jaune once again felt like the piece of cake as each of the girls stood very, very close to Jaune. Ozpin's speech never registered as the Arc's mind could only focus on keeping his hands absolutely still. He was pretty sure that if he moved there would be some kind of _contact_. Contact that would likely end with him murdered by several pissed off, talented, and very beautiful women.

 _'Eh, there are probably worse ways to go,'_ Jaune thought.

A few hours later, Jaune had discovered a borderline worse way to go. His female acquaintances had encircled him with a quickness, efficiency, and ruthlessness that would have made a pack of Beowolves proud. Jaune was well aware that he was also balancing precariously over said pack of Beowolves. If he even gave the impression he favored one of the girls over the others...it would be a blood bath.

 _'At least we all put up our weapons,'_ Jaune thought as he cautiously glanced around. He nearly gulped as he focused on finishing on finishing the E-mail to his mom and sisters. Jaune wasn't _completely_ ignorant when it came to women. The E-mail he was sending dropped a few hints. One didn't grow up in a house outnumbered eight-to-one by women and girls and not pick up a few things. The young man was absolutely certain Weiss, Pyrhha, and maybe Blake had chosen the more daring of their Pjs. Yang...well if Jaune had to guess at least...only had _daring_ clothes.

 _'Remember this Jaune...details. Be aware of details everywhere you go. Details in the field will keep you and yours alive. Grimm don't allow do-overs. They don't drop hints. Details in the kitchen and in life can keep you from ruining a meal...or other opportunities...'_ The words were Jaune's dad. The Knight grinned as he listened to his dad's exacting tone and saw the infamous index finger point.

Jaune's ingrained attention to detail made the messages the girls were sending pretty damn obvious. Ruby was laying on her belly writing a letter. Jaune had caught her looking up at him before writing with a _great_ deal of enthusiasm. Pyrrha was currently brushing her extremely long hair with a contented smile on her face. Most observers would think the four time champion was simply enjoying brushing her hair. Jaune had been around girls most of his life. Pyrrha had brushed the same bit of hair four times. Meanwhile, Blake's posture made it clear her book wasn't the only thing she was reading. She was reading the situation. Every once and a while, she would make eye-contact with Jaune.

 _'Oh god. I thought it was bad enough when Yang showed up somehow wearing_ less _than normal...'_

The elder sister was wearing practically microscopic dark-colored shorts and a tiny yellow top along with a smirk. It was Jaune's opinion that if it was up to Yang...the only thing she'd be wearing would be the smirk.

"Hey, Blake!" Ruby called out and received a bit of acknowledgment from the dark-haired girl. "What are you reading?"

"You like books?" No one missed the curiosity in question.

"I love books. Yang used to read me fairy tales every night before bed." Ruby rolled over. "Stories about heroes like that are why I decided to be a Huntress. I wanted to be someone who protects others. Becoming a huntress was the best way to do that."

 _'That...and to connect with my mother who I struggle to remember..'_ Ruby silently admitted.

"The real world isn't like the fairy tales. Happy endings don't just happen," Blake pointed out. "You have a surprisingly noble desire."

"Thanks, but aren't happy endings why we are here? To give the world a chance at having one?"

Blake smiled at the answer. "I guess you're right."

"Um, Blake, I have two questions and I'll be done," Ruby suddenly became a bit shy.

Blake flashed an amused glance towards Jaune. Returning her attention to Ruby, Blake nodded once.

"What are you reading?"

"It's a story about a man with two souls," Blake answered and was shocked by Ruby's sudden appearance well within her personal space bubble.

"Lehm Selee published it! How did I miss that? Yaaaaaang! Why didn't you tell me?!" Ruby pouted childishly.

Everyone chuckled at Ruby's outburst. The youngest potential Huntress calmed herself with a huff. "Your Pjs look really comfy...can I feel the fabric?"

"Uh...sure?" Blake answered uneasily. Ruby squealed happily and ran a finger over Blake's collar bone. Both girls _purred_ at the contact. Jaune hastily adjusted his seating position and thanked his dad f it would for getting rid of that onesie. It _had_ been ridiculously comfy. It would have also made stealth impossible in this situation.

Pyrrha crossed in front of Jaune and approached Blake. "May I?" Blake once again nodded. Pyrrha hummed approvingly after copping a feel.

_'Oh god. This is how I die. I explode and have all these girls curse my name eternally as a complete pervert...'_

"Uh...Bathroom!" Jaune announced to no one and everyone and dashed from the communal sleeping area.

"That was rather sudden," Weiss commented idly.

Yang, for her part, had double over laughing. Pyrrha was looking to Ruby and Blake for an explanation as to why the blonde needed Pyrrha to act as a humor crutch.

"She's Yang...you'll get used to it..." Ruby explained with a roll of her silver eyes.

* * *

Jaune was now firmly convinced that the Universe was trying to kill him in the most sickly funny ways possible. First, the universe had tried to have him kidnapped by very odd air sailors. Next, the universe had put him squarely in the sights of several women who's gorgeousness Jaune was truly unprepared to experience. Last night, the universe had tried the 'overload Jaune via his gorgeous friends' trick again.

Because evidently, that gag was good enough to use twice.

Now, Headmaster Ozpin had launched Jaune into the air via a super-powered catapult. The middle aged coffee addict had simply told them to work out their own 'Landing Strategy'. Worse, the jerk had been smiling behind his mug. Jaune was currently screaming as he flew through the air. Yang might have also been screaming, but the aviator glasses gave lie to the idea she was screaming in the same manner as Jaune. The Arc Knight was screaming in terror, and lamenting leaving Waste Bucket back in the locker. Yang's screams sounded more like 'Woooooooo' as opposed to Jaune's 'FUUUUUUUUUU!'

 _'Note to self...Crocea Mors is_ not _an effective air brake,'_ Jaune thought glumly as he rapidly approached the forest's canopy. He quickly positioned his shield in front of him. The impact of the branches against the ancient shield was jarring. Luckily, one of the few skills Jaune's father had the chance to teach him was reinforcing his armor and shield. _'Dad's lessons never dealt with attacking. He always focused on making sure I could defend myself...and others.'_

The thoughts of his dad filled him with confidence. He managed to use a larger branch as a springboard. The final few dozen feet of his less-than-graceful 'landing strategy' were far more controlled than his inept air-brake attempt. Jaune desperately hoped that one of the girls was around to see his pretty badass shoulder roll followed closely by springing to his feet into a combat stance.

Alas, the Universe refused to let him have a cool moment.

It did, however, decide that it was time to try to kill him again. A single snarling Beowolf charged out of the underbrush. Jaune fell back on the training he had received from his dad, the books he had read, and sheer instinct.

_Deflect with shield. Don't let the impact knock you off balance. He who keeps his feet wins. Slash at the squishy bits. Don't aim for the exoskeleton..._

The monotony of recalling the lessons helped control the _sheer avalanche of fear and adrenaline_ cascading from the young Huntsman. Jaune frowned as the wounded Beowolf made yet another charge. He was doing pretty good. The Beowolf's aggression was working against it, but Jaune still couldn't land a killing blow.

"I'm going to regret this..." Jaune moaned as he transformed his shield into the sheath form. The surging drumbeat of Jaune's heart was competing with the howl of the Beowolf for the loudest sound Jaune had ever heard.

The next moment was burned into Jaune's memory forever. Jaune had not thrust at the Grimm with the sword component of Crocea Mors. He had thrust with the sheath and extended it into the shield form. Crocea Mors extended with shocking force and split the Beowolf's head in twain.

Vertically.

"That was stupid..." Jaune breathed out in relief as his enemy began to burn away.

"Jaune?" The concerned question helped bring Jaune back to earth. "Are you hurt?"

_'Eye contact determines teams. So, when I turn around, barring some hilariously improbable event, I'll be on her team...'_

"I'm good," Jaune confessed. "Welcome to Team Jaune, Pyrrha."

* * *

Ruby Rose enjoyed her Semblance. There was an undeniable rush when she called upon her power. It also had the bonus of being completely _hers._ Ruby had decided that she needed a better view of the surrounding area. The sudden baleful cawing of a Nevermore gave her a great idea! The boost from her Semblance had actually put her _above_ the flying Grimm!

 _'Now if I can land on that beast, I'll have a birds-eye-view of the forest...'_ Ruby thought with a satisfied grin adorning her face. The grin quickly fell. It actually fell much, much faster than Ruby currently was. _'I_ knew _Yang would eventually corrupt me into the nightmare of puns!'_

Ruby's spirits were lifted, again, as she landed successfully on the back on the Nevermore. "Okay, here's the plan, buddy! We're going to look for some of our friends so I can partner up and kill you in an awesome tag-team moment!"

The Nevermore hissed and spun in an attempt to shake Ruby. Unfortunately for the Grimm, Ruby had pretty much garroted the monster with the blade of Crescent Rose.

"That's a great idea! Let's find Jaune, Yang, or some of our other friends!" Ruby also remembered that she blabbered when she was nervous or _absolutely terrified._ Looking down on the Emerald Forest, she felt a pang of disappointment. Jaune was talking to the redheaded girl, Pyrrha. _'Oh well, that'll be one of the nicest partnerships ever. They'd probably apologize to the Grimm they kill...'_

There wasn't any Yang sightings at the moment. If Ruby had to guess, she was punching some Grimm into a paste. Ruby Rose was slightly disappointed that the forest was so thick. It would have been cool to see her dear sister going all out. Ruby had missed the 'event' that had gotten the pugilist barred from that one club.

The lack of Yang was disappointing, but Ruby was really looking forward to finding a partner. Luck, it seemed had decided that Ruby was going to get a partner...right now! The Reaper extended her dearly loved baby, Crescent Rose, and slammed the vicious blade into the spine of the Grimm. She had never heard of anyone pulling a stunt like this.

_'Wouldn't surprise me if Dad or Uncle Qrow did it though...'_

Ruby and Crescent Rose had turned the Nevermore into a guided missile. The snarling mass of Beowolves had no idea what was coming! She was really hoping a whole lot of her classmates would appreciate the entrance!

* * *

Lie Ren had successfully finished his 'landing strategy'. The perceptive young man recognized Headmaster Ozpin's maneuver for what it actually entailed. First, launching the students into the air was testing their reactions to sudden, unexpected situations. Second, Ren was pretty sure Ozpin just thought it was hilarious.

The rather calm young man simply jumped directly into the air as the King Taijito exploded from the forest like an incredibly angry slinky. StormFlower practically materialized in his hands. Pumping Aura into his lower legs, Ren jumped over the Black Head's strike. Ren called upon a state of Zen-like stillness. The otherworldly calm provided Ren with the perfect opportunity to put a perfectly grouped burst of bullets into the snake Grimm's eyes. The monochrome monstrosity writhed in pain. As the Black Head blindly flailed about, the second head came around to strike.

A pink comet was going to have no part of that.

King Taijito were horrifically allergic to gigantic warhammers swung at immense speeds. The pink comet of wrath passed too quickly for Ren to make eye-contact. He caught glimpse of the exit vector as the young man dodged the viscera of the former Grimm. The woods were filled with a sudden almost shrill cry. Ren could only smile as Nora appeared. She was hanging upside down from a tree branch. As was her tradition, she reached out and poked Ren's nose with a happy "Boop!"

It was great when things worked out. "Hello, Nora."

"Hello, Renny. When we get out of here can we have pancakes?"

* * *

 _'Head up, shoulders back. Right foot forward...not that forward!'_ Weiss recalled her lessons. "Timing," she verbally declared before lunging forward with Myrtenaster. The Heiress was beginning to believe these Beowolves were older, or at least unusually cautious.

Never let it be said that a Schnee wouldn't take advantage of good fortune!

Myrtenaster released the Fire Dust cartridge and immolated her target. Weiss smirked with an almost intoxicating sense of satisfaction. This was no battle against the Giant Armor her father had set against her. As she pulled her left foot around in what resembled a dance step, the other Beowolves threw themselves at the now vulnerable target.

 _'That...that Beowolf was_ bait! _How is that possible?'_ Weiss's mind raced in panic. The fear radiating off the Schnee maiden was driving the Grimm into a frenzy. Odds were that the frenzy was calling to every nearby Grimm.

"INCOMING!" A voice cried out from above. The cry threw the Beowolf pack off kilter. Weiss took advantage to the distraction to dodge. Her Semblance flared as a Glyph appeared slightly beneath the young woman's feet. Momentum and the platform allowed Weiss to escape the crash landing of a profusely smoking Nevermore. The impact crushed three of the smaller Grimm and the claws eviscerated the remainder. A petite red and black figure somersaulted off the smoking remains of the hideous monstrosity.

Weiss gawked as Ruby Rose landed with a flourish of her enormous and fearsome scythe. How was _this_ the socially awkward dolt from the airship?

"Admit it," Ruby grinned as she leaned forward. "You're thinking 'How is Ruby Rose _this cool?'_ and 'How quickly can I be her friend?' The answers are 'I drink milk,' and 'Right now!"

Weiss leveled a wintry glare at the younger girl. The gambit was the most insane risk anyone in the history of Remnant had ever taken! Second...she really didn't want to admit that Ruby's entrance was, in fact, incredibly awesome.

The Heiress had a reputation to uphold.

"Since we made eye-contact and are _stuck_ with each other...I fully expect you to warn me before you do something so crazy again, you _dolt!"_

"Yeah, we're besties now," Ruby boasted. Weiss huffed and stormed off. The prodigy simply grinned as she trotted in the Schnee's wake.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long was a woman of simple tastes. She loved her father, uncle, and sister. She enjoyed Strawberry Sunrises with no ice and a fancy mini-umbrella. She loved caring for her hair, which was the world's greatest. Anyone who disagreed or harmed her prized feature would quickly be 'volunteered' to participate in Yang's true favorite activity.

Repeatedly punching things very hard.

Her current crop of gracious _volunteers_ were a pair of Ursa. Miss Xiao Long was having a grand old time. These Ursa were slow and very clumsy in their attacks. Yang was almost laughing. If she had to guess, the positive emotions were throwing the Creatures of Grimm off their game.

 _'Good to see this is actually a strategy!'_ Yang triumphantly thought. She had noticed this during a few of the training hunts on Patch. Over the years, the pugilist had tested this theory. There was definitely a pattern.

Right now, Yang was following just one pattern. Leap in, pummel one of the monsters, leap back. Simple and direct were the two traits she enjoyed in her fights.

A throaty chuckle rumbled forth. "Here I thought big boys like you would actually be a challenge. You all couldn't..."

The Grimm pair exchanged a look that, were it borne by humans, would clearly be translated into 'Oh crap'.

Yang watched in horror as a solitary strand of hair fall away. Her hair was a crucial part of her identity. She considered it a manifestation of her pride and of her one tangible connection to her mother. Yang viewed an attack on her hair as an attack on her very soul.

" **YOU MONSTERS!"** What followed was an outpouring of rage that sent the youngest Grimm fleeing from the flaming apocalypse that was an enraged Yang Xiao Long. The Ursa were not so fortunate. Yang was quickly upon them in a tidal wave of punches, shotgun blasts and utterly foul profanity.

Her first target was already starting to evaporate when she spun around. Yang's eyes were no longer lilac, but a fiery red.

They were the eyes of her mother and possibly the most feared gaze in all of Vale. Her anger receded as the familiar wet sound of a blade piercing corrupted flesh filled her ears. Yang looked up as the red fled her eyes.

"I could have taken, it," the brawler boasted to her new partner.

Blake Belladonna simply smirked and retrieved her weapon with a satisfied pull on its chain.

"I had everything under control," Yang assured her new partner.

The dark-haired beauty continued to smirk. "Couldn't let you have all the fun."

 _'Oh, this will definitely be fun,"_ Miss Xiao Long thought. She could appreciate snark. She could also hope her sister and other friends were okay.

* * *

"Not okay! Not Okay!" Ruby shouted as she joined Weiss in a fighting retreat from a horde of Beowolves.

"Why are there so many?!" Weiss yelled in annoyance.

Ruby front-flipped over the swipe of a very angry Beowolf. "I don't know...try thinking happy thoughts!"

Weiss struck down down one of the Grimm with a precise thrust through its eye. "I will be **happy** to be out of this forest! I will be **happy** to sleep in a proper bed! I will be **happy** when Jaune Arc makes me that tart!"

"Wait, Jaune promised you food?" Ruby asked as Crescent Rose transformed into its rifle-form. "And it's a _dessert?_ What kind?"

The Schnee Heiress sighed at Ruby's enthusiasm for sweets even when nearly overrun by Grimm. "Once we get out of this, I might tell you."

"That's convenient...I've been working on an idea. You're weapon can use Dust right?" The Reaper asked again.

"Yes," Weiss confirmed uneasily.

Ruby grunted as she carved up a few Beowolves that had been particularly bold. "Great! When we reach the next treeline, I'll cut down a bunch with Crescent Rose and my Semblance. I'll need you to set them all on fire!"

"You want to burn down the forest?" The noblewoman cried out.

"I want to make it to the temple so we can get out of this forest!" Ruby counter.

Weiss really couldn't argue with that point. She wanted to get out of the forest as well. A quick nod was all the confirmation the Schnee could afford to give as another Beowolf attacked. Weiss was pleased that she eliminated the monster cleanly and efficiently. The treeline was reached quickly. The remaining Grimm waited cautiously for more of their foul brethren to launch another attack.

Ruby smirked and 'allowed her beloved baby' to go to work. Weiss was actually impressed by the younger girl's weapon. The final tree fell to the ground with a sound like thunder. Ruby and Weiss actually _felt_ the tree crash. A reassuring _click_ let Weiss know her Dust cartridge was chambered properly. Ruby cheered as the red wave of Dust ignited the trees. Beowolves howled in frustration and anger as they fled from the flames.

"So," Ruby drawled. "What's Jaune cooking for you?"

* * *

Pyrrha watched as Jaune calmly peered into the very large, very dark cave. The huntsman-in-training/chef leaned back and turned his attention to the hieroglyphics and their incredibly obvious dire warning of horrible danger and almost certain bloody death at the hands of a Death Stalker.

"All in favor of avoiding the Scary Cave Full of Nope, say 'Aye'!" Jaune declared.

"Aye," Pyrrha readily agreed. "I am...concerned about the possibility of such a dangerous Grimm remaining close to Beacon."

Jaune nodded. "Me too, but the two of us would be hard pressed to kill a Grimm that old. Between the two of us could probably eliminate every Beowolf and Boarbatusk in this forest. Blow them...away..."

The Mistral Champion crossed her arms beneath her breasts and waited for Jaune to finish his idea. Unfortunately, her action drew attention to her non-combat assets and Jaune lost track of his thoughts for a bit. "You were saying, Jaune?"

"Blow them away. That," Jaune explained as he pointed to an odd colored crystal. "is unrefined Dust."

Pyrrha smiled approvingly at Jaune, for multiple reasons, and nodded. "I can strike that with my Rifle-form."

"Do the honors," Jaune responded with a smile. True to her word, the Dust crystal exploded in a glorious pyrotechnic display. The cave entrance collapsed spectacularly. "Let's just hope there isn't another exit somewhere."

"We can let Professor Ozpin know after we get back to the Cliffs with our relic." Jaune motioned in the probable direction of the temple. The Invincible Girl was placated by Jaune's idea and followed his lead.

* * *

Blake Belladona and Yang Xiao Long had been through the wringer during their short lives. The two rather exceptionally beautiful women had experience in some rather shadowy pursuits for very different reasons. This situation was completely out of their comfort zone.

"Awwwww! I broke it! Renny, can we get another one?" A hyperactive redhead slid off the evaporating corpse of a rather large Ursa.

"Nora...never do that again..." Her obvious and exhausted partner stumbled forward.

"But it was fun!" The aforementioned Nora countered in a sing-song tone.

Renny, at least according to Nora, shot his partner a flat look. The stern annoyance was undershot by a quiet smirk. "Let's grab a relic."

Nora dashed forward and grabbed a golden rook. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

"She's..." Yang carefully searched for the correct word.

"Way too energetic..." Blake concluded. "What relic are we grabbing?"

"Oh! The cute pony! _Definitely!"_ Yang exuberantly announced as she scooped up the Knight piece.

"Yang~!" Ruby called out as she dashed forward with her Semblance. "We're all still alive!"

"Ruby!" Yang replied full of relief. Weiss finally reached the reunion. The heiress greeted each of the other girls with a polite nod. She was simply too exhausted to speak. Ruby smiled at Weiss, providing the Schnee with permission to grab one of the relics.

 _'I've always wanted a pony,'_ Weiss thought to herself as she grabbed a golden night.

"I really feel like today has gone well considering everything!" Yang declared.

Blake nodded and smiled in agreement. Nora, however, was nowhere near as reserved. "Today has been soooooooooooooo great! I'm partners with Ren! We've not dead! We've all killed monsters and best of all! No one has said the _forbidden words that Nora will have to_ end you _for saying!"_

"Let me guess...'it can't get any worse?" Ruby innocently guessed. Ren barely managed to grab a now panicked Nora before Magnhild finished transforming into its Grenade Launcher form.

" **I didn't even know those existed!"**

The assembled Beacon students wheeled around in a shock at the very loud yell from one Jaune Arc. He was running alongside Pyrrha from a veritable tide of insectoid Grimm. The exoskeleton of the Grimm possessed very pronounced ridges along the monstrosities' 'mask', thorax and abdomen. Worse, the spines protruding were capable of being launched like the feathers of a Nevermore.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried out. Crescent Rose immediately shifted to Rifle-mode.

"Everyone! Bridge! Now!" Jaune yelled breathlessly. Pyrrha had the presence of mind to grab a Relic as she rushed by. Jaune jumped in front of his partner to deflect a Grimm's fired spine. A burst of sub machine gun fire dropped a few more of the encroaching Grimm.

"Aren't Talaridris supposed to be the only extinct Grimm?!" Weiss yelled as she molded an Ice Glyph to slow the onrushing horde.

Yang roared wildly as she fired Ember and Ceclia madly into the Talaridris. "They're _freaking Grimm!_ We don't even know how more Grimm are made!"

Pyrrha allowed herself to fall back as she stabbed the full spear form of her weapon into the ant-like Grimm's head.

"Worry about that later! Uh, you with the grenade launcher! Sorry I don't know your name, but can you bring the bridge down once we're across?" Jaune called out.

The energetic girl fired a pair of grenades into the ant tide. Each explosion was celebrated with a manic laugh. "Names Nora~! And I _can_ bring the bridge down, but I'll need my hammer form of Magnhild to do it."

"No dumb risks!" Jaune ordered.

Ruby suddenly grabbed Jaune and pulled him to the ground. "This just isn't _fair!"_

The Knight looked up and groaned. "You're right. This officially sucks. Since when could they fly?"

Fortunately, the group made it across the bridge without too much other problems. Yang was extremely pleased with her performance after she grabbed a flying Talaridris and used it to take out another ant that was about to attack Ren.

"Now, Nora!" Jaune shouted. Ruby was directing Blake and Ren to target the flying Grimm. Yang, Weiss, and Pyrrha were shielding Nora's demolition of the bridge.

"I am the destroyer of _wooooooooorlds!"_ Nora cried out as the bridge began to collapse. It formed a perfect block to keep the leaping Taladris from reaching the eight huntsman. Nora used her Aura to launch herself form the now vertically aligned bridge segment. Jaune wasn't sure what the high pitched sound she was making was meant to be. Obviously, the green-clad guy evidently called Ren knew instantly. Ren quickly positioned himself to catch Nora. The Valkyrie laughed and poked Ren in the nose with a relieved, "Boop."

After a few more running battles with the flying Talaridris, the Beacon students reached the safety of the cliffs. They all collapsed in relief and exhaustion.

 _'I've never been so happy to be blinded by the sun,'_ Jaune thought with a laugh of pure, unadulterated, giddy relief.

"Everyone up for a 'Holy shit, we're alive!' party once we get dorms, make some kind of positive sound or signal," The chef volunteered to the group. An assorted menagerie of words of agreement, enthusiasms or even a simple happy sounding groan answered Jaune's suggestion.

"I think I want a nap first though," Ruby confessed shyly.

Blake hummed. "A nap sounds fine by me."

A snore that would terrify a Goliath rang out. Nora had preempted Ruby's suggestion. Or maybe she was just able to fall asleep that fast. Jaune wasn't going to worry too much about it. His new friends were safe. He was safe. They were all going to be Huntsmen and Huntresses together.

This was everything he had ever hoped for.


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune Arc was truly understanding one of his father's quirks for the first time as he stood upon the stage of Beacon's auditorium. Professor Ozpin had announced that Jaune Arc, painfully average in pretty much every conceivable Huntsman skill, was now the leader of Team JNPR. It seemed almost out of place that Jaune was leading a team with Pyrrha the Invincible Girl, Ren the Ninja, and Nora the Destroyer of Worlds and She of the Boop. Still, here he was.

There were cheers and adulation from almost everyone. Pyrrha was beaming at him and even playfull punched him in the arm. _'She's not only hot, but incredibly strong. Did Pyrrha win the genetic lotto or something?'_ He returned the smiles of his team gladly. JNPR was the center of attention and Jaune couldn't deny it was a rush. Ren seemed as nonplussed as always. Nora was simply Nora. The Arc was pretty sure she wasn't aware of the sheer numbers or more than likely simply didn't have a single care to give to the situation. Pyrrha handled it like a seasoned pro. Which, Jaune sheepishly remembered, she evidently was.

JNPR ducked off the stage and cheered heartily when their friends were announced as Team RWBY under Ruby's command. The younger girl was even more stunned by her appointment as team leader than anyone. She looked between her exceedingly proud sister, Professor Ozpin, and Jaune. Ruby set her gaze on Jaune, her skin flushed from the avalanche of unexpected attention, and mouthed "Me?"

"You," Jaune mouthed back.

"She is certainly a talented girl," Ren observed.

"Yes, her skills are quite exceptional," Pyrrha praised. Jaune successfully fought the urge to gulp at the mental image filling his head. It resembled his sisters jousting for the last piece of Chocolate Apocalypse Cake.

Just with Pyrrha wielding Miló and Akoúo̱ and Ruby wielding Crescent Rose instead of forks. Oh, and Jaune was the cake.

He looked around for some form of support. Ren gave him a sympathetic look. Blake and Weiss seemed curious more than concerned. Nora and Yang...Nora and Yang had the single most terrifying reaction to the situation. They probably viewed the situation as an open flame and their possible involvement as a sizable cache of Fire Element Dust. Jaune had been too distracted by the five incredibly beautiful women he had met, nearly being eaten by hundreds of Talaridris, and being assigned to Team JNPR to wonder what had happened to that one racist guy from the airship. It appeared that Cardin Winchester, as Jaune now knew him, had no such distractions. Cardin picked out Jaune from the crowd and glared.

"What's with him?" Nora asked.

Jaune chuckled. "He and I had a run in on the airship. Cardin may have made some racist comments about Faunus that led Captain Colcannon to nearly throw him off the ship."

Pyrrha's expression suddenly hardened. "The world has enough problems without adding more bigots to the mix."

"We can break his legs!" Nora added helpfully.

Ren and Jaune exchanged a look, complete with an eye roll. JNPR's leader let Ren take the lead with Nora. "Nora, I'm not sure attacking a fellow classmate outside of combat training is a good idea."

"Does that mean I can break his legs _in_ combat training?" Nora asked hopefully.

"If you behave...and he misbehaves," Jaune answered playfully. His flippant answer received a weary, but amused, glare from Ren. Pyrrha simply rolled her eyes with a contented smirk. Nora threw her arms up and cried, "He said maybe, Ren!"

Jaune wondered if this would become a trend.

* * *

"This has to be on purpose," Yang said as she compared Team RWBY's dorm assignment to Team JNPR's dorm assignment (by looking at Jaune's pilfered Scroll).

Nora high-fived Ruby. "I'm not complaining!"

"Oh yeah! This is awesome! We are going to be the two best teams ever! RWBY will be 1a and JNPR will be 1b!" Ruby announced and extended her hands. Surprisingly, Blake and Weiss were the first to grant Ruby a five.

"We'll see about that!" Jaune laughed as he entered the dorm room. "Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha...feel free to pick your own beds. I'm checking the kitchen."

Jaune was quite pleased with the set-up. The appliances were far more modern than he expected and there was a purely electric stove set up. Jaune could hear his dad and mom both complaining about the electric set up. Being cooking traditionalists was one of the few things they had ever really agreed on. Jaune respected tradition, but he honestly preferred having more even heat distribution that went with a purely electric stove-top. Satisfied with the entire kitchen layout, especially the snazzy granite counter tops, Jaune emerged triumphantly from the kitchen.

"I have good news and bad news," Jaune announced. The rest of JNPR gave their team leader complete attention. "We need to make sure RWBY hears this, too."

"What are we waiting for, oh Fearless Leader?" Nora questioned. Jaune shook his head. Nora was certainly a trip. JNPR crossed the hall and Nora pretty much tried to knock down the door.

Weiss swung the door open and wore a fairly angry expression. No one could really blame her. The Hyperactive Valkyrie had just attempted to reduce her dorm's door to splinters. "May I _help_ you all?"

Jaune had to admit that even nearly pissed off, Weiss was carrying herself with incredible grace and poise. It was going to be hard enough on his hormones to be partnered with a statuesque beauty like Pyrrha. Team RWBY was just across the hall. Each member was an almost unfairly hot woman in their own right. Standing in front of him was Exhibit W.

Composing himself quickly, Jaune put forth his most casual grin. "Just wanted to give you an update and invite the rest of your team to a dinner in a few days."

"Why a few days?" Weiss actually pouted.

 _'Holy crap, that was adorable,'_ Jaune struggled to stay composed. "Well, we have class tomorrow for one. I also have to unpack my pots, pans, and other equipment. Then there's the fact I can't cook hopes and dreams to make the fish tacos and your tarts."

The Arc was pretty sure Ruby had used her Semblance. No one else could possibly cross the dorm room that fast. Jaune blinked away the blur and realized he was wrong. Somehow, Blake had practically teleported in front of Weiss.

"Hey!" Weiss squawked in surprise.

"Did you say fish?" Blake interrogated Jaune excitedly. The girl's striking gold eyes were practically shimmering with excitement. "What kind? What kind of fish?"

Nora leaned close to Ren and whispered, "Is this what I'm like when someone mentions pancakes?"

Ren nodded, but allowed Jaune to recover from the shock. "Well," Jaune started. "Pyrrha requested Mahi. It's actually a great choice for tacos. Very mild, sweet. I'm thinking serving it blackened. Does everyone like avocados?"

"Avocados are a fantastic choice," Pyrrha said happily. "They are wonderfully healthy and delicious."

"They also won't overpower the fish..." Jaune was already planning the recipe out down to presentation.

Weiss cleared her throat and shuffled uncomfortably as Ruby had poked her head through the crook of her arm. The young prodigy hummed before asking eloquently, "Ava-what-o?"

"Avocado. It's what guacamole is made out of," Jaune explained.

Ruby's face lit up. "I love guacamole!"

"It appears you are quite the experienced cook, Jaune," Ren added.

"More of a hobby, but I've been around kitchens and cooking all my life," Jaune admitted as he self-consciously ran a hand through his hair.

Yang glided into the room. "I heard tacos and I got here as fast as I could."

"Jaune's going to make all of us fish tacos!" Ruby chattered happily to her beloved big sister.

Weiss pushed Ruby's head out of her personal space and straightened her expensive jacket and Combat Skirt. The Schnee Heiress was struggling to maintain her dignified front. She was simply having too much fun. Her father's expectations, and the constant comparisons to her sister, made the already regimented Atlas society nigh unbearable. Here, Weiss realized she could simply be.

"Don't forget about our deal, Mr. Arc," Weiss decided to let her guard down a fraction and have a bit of fun. The Heiress still wasn't sure what to make of Jaune, but he seemed to be a pleasant enough sort. He struck Weiss as incredibly cheesy, but Jaune hadn't crossed over into pushy or overt. It would be refreshing to allow a friendship to develop naturally without politics or business concerns getting in their way.

"Two Blueberry-lemon tarts. I'll even throw in some fancy garnishes so it looks pretty."

Weiss flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "It is official. I have graciously decided to allow you to live across the hall from us."

"Oh thank you, Ms. Schnee for such generosity," Jaune deadpanned.

Nora cleared her throat with the subtlety of the entire Atlas Military marching across Beacon's main courtyard. "So, Ladies, my dear Renny...and...uh, Jaune! All this talk about food is making me hungry! Who's up for a trip to the dining hall to see what meals bought from the lowest bidder are like?"

Pyrrha put her hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Are you sure you can't cook hopes and dreams, Jaune?"

"I'm sure I could give it a shot," Jaune continued his deadpan musings. "What kind of meal do you think hopes and dreams would end up being?"

The tone was softer and lacked the surprisingly friendly sarcasm present in his first comment. There was just something genuine about Jaune Arc that put the four-time champion at complete ease. "Chocolate Baklava would probably be dreams. Hopes?" She rested a balled fist on her hips as she considered several options. A wave of wistfulness and nostalgic regret lapped at her childhood memories. "My grandmother's Moussaka...I...I haven't had it since her village..."

She quickly pushed those harrowing memories aside. They were the reason Pyrrha was adamant about pursuing the path of the Huntress over a 'cozy' career of modeling or acting. She had been blessed with incredible talents for combat. She could serve mankind, both humans and Faunus, in a truly meaningful way along her chosen path.

"That's why we're here," Jaune agreed with the unspoken declaration. "Like Ruby and Blake said our first night here. We've got to earn our happy endings. If we do our jobs, everyone else gets one too."

Pyrrha couldn't have asked for a better partner. She cast a glance around and saw how easy the conversations between RWBY, Nora, and Ren was flowing. She couldn't have asked for better...friends.

* * *

Teams JNPR and RWBY sat near the front of Professor Port's Grimm Studies class. Everyone was quickly losing focus as Professor Port taught the class less as a 'what to expect with Grimm' class and 'I was awesome back in the day,' symposium. Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ren were the only ones not completely bored out of their minds. Luckily, RWBY and JNPR were pretty much two halves of one team. They'd probably collaborate on notes after class.

"Now, does any of you fine young people think they have what it takes to be a **true** Huntsman or Huntress?" Port asked grandly. His mustache seemed to twitch with each word. The facial hair was so thick it seemed to cover his mouth. His naturally narrow eyes settled on Yang. "How about you, fair lass? Do you **think** you are Huntress material?"

Yang was decidedly creeped out by the attention from the portly professor. _'Heh, still got it,'_ Yang thought to herself to distract her from her uncomfortable situation. "I know how good I am. The only place I need to prove it is in the field."

"A delightful answer, miss." Port's mustache continued to articulate his words. "Would any of like to demonstrate your skills in a more...public and relaxed setting?"

Blake felt like a coiled spring. She was incredibly bored and could not stand how pretentious and self-centered Port was in handling the class. On top of her 'concerns' about Port, the cage off to the side constantly thundered as the imprisoned Grimm attempted to escape. The bullheaded lust for violence triggered uncomfortable memories.

"I will," Blake volunteered. She hid her frown as fully as she was capable. It was almost paradoxical, but volunteering to fight a Grimm was yet another form of running away. Even in a 'safe' environment surrounded by friends who really knew nothing of her sordid past, Blake Belladonna was running away. She made it three steps from her seat when a voice called out.

"It's probably a Boarbatusk." Blake turned to the speaker, which was surprisingly Jaune. "I'm sure you know where their vulnerable."

Blake nodded. She was a bit surprised that someone who was so new to her possessed such confidence in her abilities. It was a pleasant change of pace. Buoyed by Jaune's verbal support and the silent support of everyone else, Blake quickly left to retrieve her combat gear. Gambol Shroud rested comfortably in her hands as she looked at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

 _'Maybe, I have found a place...friends...where I wont' have to wear my bow anymore...'_ Blake wished against wishing.

The closeted Faunus snorted as she saw Ruby and Yang had somehow procured red RWBY pennants. Nora was grinning in a way that made Blake wonder if the 'Destroyer of Worlds' had a hand in the odd accessory.

"Are you ready, Miss Belladonna?" Professor Port pondered from his position near the cage.

Blake nodded and the cage opened. The suspicions she shared with Jaune were correct. The Boarbatusk pawed furiously at the hardwood floor. Blake extended Gambol Shroud into both its katana form and its sheath-sword. She was confident in her accuracy, but the barriers separating the impromptu arena and Blake's fellow students was too thin to risk using her gun.

 _'Boarbatusk shouldn't be a problem.'_ Blake readied herself and the Grimm responded with its signature assault. It spun wildly and rampaged across the room. The odd attack was not just devastating in its momentum, but served as a surprisingly effective defense. As long as the Boarbatusk was spinning, the vulnerable belly was practically untouchable. _'Still, the beast is predictable,'_ the Huntress thought to herself as she leapt clear of the assault.

A mighty crash rang out as the Grimm impacted against the barrier. The monster shook its head to clear the cobwebs created from its sudden stop. It was all the opening Blake needed. She rushed forward and slashed at both of the Grimm's left legs. It squealed angrily in pain, but the damage was done. The beast fell on its side. Blake strutted to the downed monster and stabbed Gambol Shroud's Katana form into the creature's exposed underbelly. The class, mostly, erupted into cheers or other celebratory actions at Blake's performance. Naturally, Ruby and Nora were making up for any lack of energy from others.

"Blake~!" Ruby squealed. "You were awesome! Thank you for proving that Team RWBY is 1a to JNPR's 1b!"

"I can uninvite RWBY to dinner," Jaune casually mentioned. Team RWBY gasped. Weiss and Blake looked especially mortified. The two exceptionally graceful members of Team RWBY were on the verge of tears.

"My tarts!" Weiss whimpered.

Blake whipped her head from gazing in shock at Ruby and in horror at Jaune. "Y-You wouldn't!"

 _'What...what have I done?'_ Jaune silently wondered, but his duty as leader of JNPR demanded he stay the course. "We can decide 1a and 1b at the end of the semester. I'd say we are even until finals. If, Miss Rose, you agree to that...I am sure we can work out something about dinner!" Jaune made sure to finish his ultimatum as playfully as possible.

Ruby gaped and looked to RWBY for support. Yang was failing to look stoic. Weiss and Blake were staring daggers at Ruby with an intensity of a thousand suns. "O-On behalf of Team RWBY, I agree."

"Excellent. We can go shopping for ingredients tomorrow!" Jaune smirked.

The four young women of JNPR's allied team breathed a sigh of utter relief. RWBY and JNPR did not have the next class together, and somewhat reluctantly split ways.

As soon as the other team was out of earshot, Nora spun in front of Jaune with a wicked smile. "Fearless leader, that was shockingly ruthless. Dare I say...underhanded and the closest I've ever seen to verbally breaking someone's legs?"

"Verbally breaking someone's legs?" Jaune asked looking to Ren and Pyrrha for some sort of context. Ren raised an eyebrow that Jaune roughly translated to 'Just nod and agree with Nora'. Pyrrha was struggling mightily not to bust out laughing. Her inexperience with this situation was showing. Jaune decided he had a new goal: make all four members of his team laugh at the same time. This wasn't the moment, but he would not abandon such a noble objective!

"I'd be failing in my duties as team leader if I didn't say we were the best. Tried to be diplomatic at least," Jaune finished with a shrug.

"We would launch a bloody coup d'etat if you didn't take up for us! Heads! Pikes! Walls! I would be the new queen of the castle! Ren would be the right hand of the queen! Pyrrha would lead my armies!" Nora started cackling. Ren buried his head in his right hand. The Invincible Girl's lips continued to twitch as they walked down the hall.

"If I survived, I'd probably end up as the jester-slash-cook," Jaune guessed.

Nora made a thoughtful noise as they rounded the corner. "Good idea. I'll have to find substitutes for the heads-on-pikes-on-walls!"

 _'Yup,'_ Jaune admitted to himself. _'Definitely a trend.'_

* * *

Jaune wasn't even trying to hide the fact he was avoiding Cardin Winchester. The look the larger boy was giving Jaune probably translated to "I want to burn you at the stake." So, Jaune decided to avoid any situation that could possibly involve fire. The Arc Knight pointed picked up the chair with JNPR written on it and dragged it closer to Ruby and Atian were sitting.

"Atian, congrats on being named team leader. How's Dalm?" Jaune greeted his buddy.

"Thanks," Atian grinned. "Team ACDT is going great so far. Chehrehn and Tenné don't care that we are Faunus. They've been cool...except that Tenné takes forever in the morning. Must be a girl thing."

Ruby cleared her throat. "It isn't our fault we we have higher standards than you _boys."_

"I'm sure the rest of RWBY, Nora, and Pyrrha would agree," Jaune deadpanned.

"If you know what's good for you," Ruby teased. "We outnumber you seven to one."

"Seven?" Atian and Jaune asked at the same time.

The Reaper patted the folded Crescent Rose resting in her lap. "My baby is a girl and you'd do well to remember she is also a gun."

"Definitely a girl thing," Atian realized.

The distinctive sound of Glynda Goodwitch slapping her Riding Crop against the podium caused all conversation to flee from the room. Beacon's resident somewhat terrifying and absolutely beautiful discipline enforcing Combat Instructor glared across the conference room.

"I will be brief. As Team Leaders, the standards to which you must carry yourself are higher than any others here at Beacon," Glynda announced. Her gaze, somehow even more terrifying than before, swept over the first year team leaders. "You all aware that Beacon's standards are already very high. None of you would be hear if we felt there were _deficiencies_ in your character."

The attention to detail Jaune's dad had drilled into him every visitation reared its head. Jaune couldn't help but notice that Glynda's gaze settled on Cardin, Ruby, and Jaune for a fraction of a second longer than any of the other leaders. Fortunately, Professor Goodwitch did not single out anyone in her speech. She did make it very clear that team leaders were responsible for the actions of their team. There were other responsibilities, but Jaune had expected those from the get-go.

Headmaster Ozpin may have let some of those details slip during the voice-call with Jaune and his dad a few weeks before letting Jaune into Beacon.

The meeting ended with no further glares or issues. Atian headed off to reunite with his team. Ruby and Jaune headed off together towards the dorms.

"You do remember where those are, right?" Jaune asked. "We don't have Weiss or Pyrrha to guide us."

Ruby puffed her cheeks out. "I can find my own room! I have my doubts about you, though."

"Doubts, eh?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. Doubts!" Ruby jabbed an accusatory finger in Jaune's face. "What kind of horrible monster would nearly make Blake and Weiss cry, eh? **EH?** I bet you'd do something as heinous as making oatmeal raisin cookies...you...you...fiend!"

"Oh no. My evil fiendish plan to destroy Beacon through oatmeal raisin cookies has been uncovered." Jaune retaliated by flicking Ruby in the forehead. The younger girl accented her pout with a blush.

"You...wouldn't actually do that would you?" Ruby asked as they resumed their walk.

The Chef shrugged. "If one of our friends asked. I'll probably end up cooking a lot for you all. Cooking is my hobby and I enjoy it."

"Could you teach me?" Ruby was confident she had straddled the line between 'Zwei-like enthusiasm' and 'out-and-out begging' quite well.

"Yeah, that is something we can do, Rubes."

"Rubes?"

"Rubes." Jaune repeated Ruby's question as an answer. The Reaper looked down and mumbled something. Jaune thought he heard Ruby something about 'at least Yang isn't here'. He brushed off the statement and steered the conversation towards a joint JNPR-RWBY journey into town. The dorks successfully returned to their rooms and parted ways for the evening. A beep from Jaune's scroll drew his attention.

[Jaune, I'm going to need the full story behind this! Package will be arriving at the 6th Street Station tomorrow afternoon. Keep making me proud and driving your mother crazy-Dad.]

"Huh, that was quick," Jaune whispered as he slipped into the dorm.

* * *

"So, what exactly _does_ Professor Peach teach?" Yang asked the group. "I mean, it's like a mix of..." The Blonde Brawler, her official nickname according to Nora, shuddered. "Professor...Port and Professor Goodwitch's classes."

"Field training, perhaps? I believe her course is to see how our teams work together in a somewhat controlled environment outside of the school," Pyrrha supplied in exacting tones.

"Pyrrha does have a point. Primary Combat Schools never took a 'hands-off-ish' approach to dealing with Grimm," Blake supported the Hoplite.

The eight teens meandered through the streets of Vale. Jaune was reading off his recipes. He already had it memorized, but he liked to be precise. Most of the girls, surprisingly Weiss and Pyrrha included, practically squealed and ran across the boulevard.

"They are sooooo cute!" Ruby cried. Jaune cast a glance to the herd of gorgeousness that had congregated in front of the pet shop.

"Does anyone know if Beacon allows pets? Please tell me someone knows!" Weiss cooed.

Pyrrha had produced her scroll. "I will find out!"

Jaune leaned closer to Ren. "Why can't Remnant be overrun by stampedes of beautiful women instead of Grimm?"

"The world is cruel," Ren said simply. Blake rolled her eyes as she returned from where the other girls were 'discussing' which breed of dog to bring to the dorms.

"Not a fan of pets?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not dogs," Blake clarified.

Jaune shrugged. He turned back to Ren. "Hey, I've got a package from my dad to pick up over at 6th Street. Could you let me know what kind of trouble our comrades get into?"

"Sure, but you owe me." Ren crossed his arms.

"I'm going to owe everyone at this point," Jaune laughed. "The package is actually your payment Blake. Want to tag along?"

"Sounds good. I'd rather not be involved in," Blake shuddered in a manner that resembled Yang when talking about Professor Port. "choosing a _dog_."

Jaune and Blake wished Ren good luck and headed off towards the postal station.

"I wasn't expecting the book so quick," Blake mentioned casually.

"Neither was I to be honest. My dad must have pulled some strings. The printings are usually on a tight schedule. How he got past the embargo date..." Jaune mused.

"Publishers hate leaks. Spoilers are among my trifecta of enemies." Blake actually chuckled a bit. Jaune was surprised. The young woman seemed, outwardly at least, to be just as professional and controlled as Pyrrha.

Well, at least until Pyrrha had revealed her full girlishness in the face of puppies.

"Grimm, spoilers, and what's the third?" Jaune asked flippantly. He had misread the sardonic and troubled nature of the laugh. The Arc's general belief in the innate nobility of people blinded him occasionally. The hard look he received from Blake was impossible to misread. Blake's inclusion of spoilers had been an attempt, and a weak one at that, at providing some verbal ibuprofen. Jaune nodded apologetically. They arrived at 6th Street Station a few minutes later.

"Hi," Jaune greeted the clerk warmly. His natural good cheer and optimism had returned after the stumble with misreading his beautiful golden-eyed friend earlier. "I'm Jaune Arc and I have a package from Atlas."

The clerk secured the package and the required paperwork to sign. Jaune finished the details and opened the package then and there. "Ah-ha!"

"One signed copy of Gris Fourneau's unreleased travel memoir, Kingdoms, Kitchens, and Chaos, for one Miss Blake Belladonna," Jaune announced and handed the book over.

Blake opened the over and read the writing on the inside cover, _"Blake Belladonna, thank you for keeping Jaune from becoming a sailor. Wishing you success at Beacon, Gris Fourneau._ He thanked me for keeping you from being a sailor?"

Jaune smiled at the girl's improved mood. It seemed the autograph smoothed things over after Jaune's earlier misstep. "If you'd been there the time I threw up on that press doodad on an airship, you'd understand."

"That bad?"

"At least they edited that out of the show," Jaune confessed in evident relief.

Blake was not one for schadenfreude. In fact, she despised the concept and how it always seemed to be derived from the misfortunes of the Faunus. The conversation was quickly redirected to what kind of horrors Ren was being subjected to.

"Thank you, Jaune. I should have said it sooner, but I appreciate the book," Blake genuinely smiled. Jaune was reduced to muttering dumbly as the full effect of Blake's smile took hold.

The universe really was trying to kill him by overdosing his exposure to unfairly beautiful women.

* * *

Pyrrha wore a serious expression as she slashed at Jaune's shield. The Arc knew that his partner was fighting at a speed that was comparable to her taking a bath in honey and...

...okay...as happy as that mental image was it _definitely_ was not the time for it. He barely managed to avoid the utterly precise strike from Miló. Jaune countered attacked quickly with a shield bash feint and quick slash at the gap between Pyrrha's armor and waist. The 'Invincible Girl' actually smiled as she used Akoúo̱ to bat aside the blow.

"That was very good Jaune! We will continue to work on your speed and technique, but tactically you have incredible potential!"

"Really?" Jaune asked eagerly.

"I would not lie to you, Jaune. I am surprised you noticed the gap in my armor. That speaks well to your ability to quickly read your opponents," Pyrrha continued her praise.

"Yeah...that," Jaune quickly agreed. He wasn't sure if admitting he had been staring at her _a lot_ due to the fact she was gorgeous would go over all too well.

"Regardless, it speaks very well to your potential. I am looking forward to being by your side as you unlock it." Pyrrha motioned with her Xiphos. Jaune smiled. The spar resumed at a higher rate of speed. Jaune tried to press the advantage using every feint and technique he could think of. Pyrrha had seen almost all of these strategies in the tournaments.

 _Almost_.

Jaune used Crocea Mor's ability to collapse the shield to allow one of Pyrrha's strikes to go wide. He attempted to bash at Pyrrha, but the four time champion caught his wrist.

"You, Jaune Arc, are exceedingly clever. If you had gone to Sanctum, I fear that my position as four time champion would have been endangered!" Pyrrha was so genuine that Jaune had no grounds to doubt her. _That_ was not the source of his frown as they separated. Jaune muttered something that Pyrrha didn't catch. "Jaune...is everything alright?"

"Yeah, they are now," Jaune's frown evaporated. His usual smile found its way back to its rightful perch. "It's just I _did_ want to go to Sanctum. My parents...my parents separated when I was a kid. Mom didn't want me to be a Huntsman for a long time. She had custody and I didn't have a chance to attend school until Dad got some of his legal rights back."

"Oh, I am glad that everything has worked out!" Pyrrha smiled once again. A look of concern danced across her face as her partner's frown returned two-fold.

"I'm getting the same kind of nervous I got before the split though," Jaune mumbled.

"What? Why?" The Hoplite gasped.

Theatrically, Jaune gripped at his heart and threw his head back. "Team RWBY is trying to steal my partner with their shiny new aquarium! I'm not sure I can handle competing with a self-cleaning, automatic feeding aquarium filled with exotic fish that _probably_ has a total cost that puts my grandparents' home to shame!"

Pyrrha couldn't contain her mirth and relief. She laughed. A genuine, unrestrained laugh. Jaune may have lost all three spars, but the tips...and the laugh...he had received made him the real winner tonight. "It is a very nice aquarium. The fish are quite attractive..."

Jaune turned around to grab two waters out of the cooler. "And there's nothing in our room that you think is attractive?"

His back was turned, thus causing him to miss Pyrrha's blush put her hair's shade to shame. "W-Well, I..."

"Hey, Pyrrha, got a question about the pets though..." Jaune sat down on a nearby bench and extended the water in his left hand towards his partner.

"G-Go ahead," Pyrrha said as she accepted the offered bottle of water.

"I thought you ladies had your heart set on a puppy," Jaune observed.

Pyrrha actually pouted. Pouted! "We truly did. I know Weiss and Ruby were devastated when Professor Goodwitch said no."

"Wait...why did you go to Goodwitch?" Jaune asked in shock. "She's the strictest person on Remnant!"

"Weiss actually tried to call Professor Peach. She is on good terms with her and we _hoped_ that the friendly relationship could be leveraged."

Jaune smiled sympathetically. "Wrong number?"

"That is the worst part, Jaune. We dialed the right number! Goodwitch picked up!" Pyrrha sighed dejectedly.

 _'Wow, Pyrrha really wanted a puppy,'_ Jaune thought glumly. He was fighting the urge to run out, and regulations be damned, buy his partner the single most adorable puppy he could find.

The Invincible Girl continued. "Weiss and I tried every logical argument possible, but nothing would work."

"You _were_ talking to Goodwitch. She's a very...fierce and focused woman," The Chef pointed out in sympathy.

"I know," Pyrrha grumbled. "Not even Ruby and Weiss crying worked! I...may have allowed a moment of laxity in my emotional control as well."

The image of Pyrrha, Weiss, and especially Ruby turning on the waterworks very nearly caused Jaune to run to the nearest pet store. He actually jumped up.

"Is something wrong, Jaune?" Pyrrha took a cautious step towards Jaune.

The Huntsman lowered his head. "I-I am kinda fighting off the urge to risk suspension or worse to buy you a puppy now..."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I would prefer my partner _not_ face the wrath of Professor Goodwitch regardless of how chivalrous the reason," Pyrrha joked. Jaune chuckled at the joke and decided that between Pyrrha's laugh, Blake's smile, and the million other little details he was noticing in his friends death by overdosing on proximity to beautiful women was definitely not the worst way to go.

* * *

The 'debate' over where the inaugural RWBY/JNPR dinner lasted all of twenty-six seconds. Jaune and Ren had been well prepared to suggest having it in JNPR's room, but they were outnumbered seven-to-one. The first twenty-seconds had been the declaration by the women that it would be near the aquarium. The rest had been Jaune and Ren simply saying yes.

"Seven-to-one?" Ren asked Jaune.

"Crescent Rose is a girl as well as a gun. Ruby is quite...adamant...about people properly addressing her baby," Jaune explained.

"I can tell," Ren agreed. Jaune's closest guy friend didn't talk much, but the chef honestly enjoyed the to the point (and very sane) change of pace. Ruby, Nora, and Yang had enough hyperactive energy to power the CCTS for all time.

The two young men finished transferring all the utensils, ingredients, and accessories to RWBY's dorm. All the young women were sitting around the horrifically makeshift bunk beds and the ridiculously expensive fish tank chatting amicably.

"Any clue how that works?" Jaune gestured to the 'physics don't work like that' setup.

Ren hummed thoughtfully. "It appears that while you cannot cook hopes and dreams, they do manage to hold bunk beds together while violating all known engineering principles."

"I'm just going to pretend to accept it and not think too hard about it," the chef admitted.

"For the best," Ren readily agreed.

Weiss's tarts would take the longest to make and Jaune suggested the two cooks for the evening began prepping that part of the meal.

"You're really good with pastries," Jaune complimented.

Ren smiled as he finished the shell of the 'for everyone' tart. "I've had a lot of practice. Nora adores pancakes."

"Heh, as long as you two have been together, I'm not surprised," Jaune teased as he finished the filling and sat it aside.

"Well...not together-together," Ren admitted.

Jaune leveled a flat glare at his closest guy friend. "I call bullshit."

"It's...complicated," JNPR's rock of emotional stability said offhandedly. Jaune understood that now wasn't the time to press and let it drop. He instead turned the conversation towards the misadventures the girls had gotten into with the aquarium.

"That smells so good!" Nora called out. "What are you two making in there?"

"We finished the tart, mostly. Just gotta let it set. Ren and I are working on the tortillas now." Jaune's explanation did not halt the two young men's work.

Yang stalked over and looked into the kitchen. "Holy crap. There's almost nothing pre-made. You're not heating the tortillas. They're being home made!" She whirled around. "We can keep these two, ladies!"

"So glad you are supporting Weiss's gracious living permissions," Jaune laughed as he started on the prep work for the mahi. "If Ren and I are lucky, will you let us be seen in public near you, Oh Pantheon of Goddesses?"

"Only if you grovel!" Nora called out.

Weiss tapped her chin. "We _would_ require grovelling."

"Lots of it!" Ruby agreed.

"Excessive even," Yang supplied. Pyrrha and Blake exchanged a look before adding their agreement in the form of a nod. Jaune smiled as he finished seasoning the mahi. Quickly, he was overcome by the feeling he was being very closely observed.

He looked up and was met by a very, very, very attentive Blake Belladonna. Pyrrha had also moved away from Nora's animated lecture on why a trained attack electric eel was the next logical purchase for the communal aquarium. Jaune raised an eyebrow at the scene playing out. _'I swear, if Pyrrha and Blake...definitely Blake...were Faunus and had tails like Dalm and Atian, they'd be wagging...'_

The image was yet another attempt by the universe to drive home the fact that Jaune was hopelessly attracted to all of his female friends. Even Nora was very pretty, but she was pretty much married to Ren despite the hollow denials that the two made sounded.

Jaune decided to have a go at both Blake and Pyrrha. He quietly moved the mahi to the left. Blake wasn't even hiding the fact that she was following the large fillets. Pyrrha's attention was clearly on the food as well. He chuckled as the mahi hit the pan. Jaune swore he heard Blake's heart beat over the wonderful sound of the fish cooking.

Pyrrha may not have been openly drooling like Blake, but she was clearly eager for the meal. The Invincible Girl had worked Jaune into the ground. Jaune actually enjoyed seeing both beauties let their guard down a bit. They seemed that much more accessible. Jaune had everyone's undivided attention when he called out, "Done!"

Everyone watched eagerly as Jaune put the finishing touches on the dishes. There was no way Jaune would cut any corners. That meant proper presentation. Cilantro, lime wedges, the avocado lime sauce, and tomatoes added some very nice color to the tacos.

"Fish," Blake moaned in anticipation.

Weiss hummed appreciatively. "This is professional quality, Jaune. I'm sure it will live up to the plate presentation."

"Fish..." Blake repeated.

Jaune bowed slightly. "Thank you Weiss." He quickly finished passing out the tacos. Once everyone had received some tacos, he motioned with his free hand. "Enjoy."

The cook had been expecting the meal to go over well. He certainly had not expected a few nigh-sexual moans from the women. Blake's eyes had glazed over and she nearly melted out of her seat.

Yang had to set her taco down. "H-Holy shit...Just... _holy shit, Jaune!"_

Nora had already devoured both of her tacos. "Those shells were like dinner pancakes! Why has the world hidden such wonders from me? What did I ever do to make the universe force hard taco shells on me?!"

Pyrrha took a second to lick a bit of the avacado lime sauce off her thumb with a very pleased hum. Between that _action_ , Blake's borderline religious experience, Weiss's 'unique' appraising looks, and finally Ruby licking her lips, Jaune wasn't sure if he could survive their reaction to dessert.

"I think we did our jobs, Ren," Jaune laughed as he grabbed some of the food for himself.

"Indeed," the night's sous-chef agreed. Those who were capable of talking discussed the aquarium. It definitely was a conversation piece.

"Now!" Jaune announced as he stood up. "Ladies, Ren...Weiss!"

"Hey!"

Jaune winked at the Schnee Heiress. "It is time for dessert. Blueberry Lemon Tarts!"

"I want mine," Weiss said eagerly. She had never expected _tacos_ of all things to be a top five food experience. Somehow, Jaune had made such plebeian food a full on sinful experience. It had fired the pleasure centers of her brain something _fierce._

Jaune retrieved the personal tart, complete with fancy garnish on a fancy plate, and delivered it to Weiss. "Madam..."

The heiress rolled her eyes at Jaune's overacting. She was still having a blast in such a relaxed atmosphere surrounded by people who were rapidly becoming true friends. That all paled in comparison to the glorious blueberry dessert in front of her. If it tasted as good as it looked, she would definitely be kidnapping Jaune and chaining him to the oven.

With perfect manners, Weiss took a bite. The pale beauty wiped her mouth daintily before setting her fork down. "Miss Pyrrha Nikos, how attached to your partner are you?"

There was something off about the un-rhythmic breathing behind Weiss's question. Speaking of questions, everyone had more than one as they noticed the heiress fidgit and rub her legs together.

"Quite attached," Pyrrha managed to pull of the perfect mix of humor, politeness, and utter possessiveness to keep everyone guessing which emotion was the primary feeling.

Nora stared in awe at the larger 'sharing size' tart Jaune had brought from the kitchen. "We like our fearless leader. He says that if I behave, I can break some jerk's legs in combat training. Renny is also his brother-from-another-mother and you wouldn't break up a family would you, Weiss? Huh? HUH? **HUH?!"**

"Am I correct in assuming that Team JNPR would take offense to me kidnapping Jaune, chaining him up in the kitchen and enslaving him to be Team RWBY's personal cook then?" Weiss asked in tones usually reserved for a business negotiation.

"Yes!" The NPR of JNPR declared.

Ruby trembled as she ate her tart. She swallowed after _clearly_ not taking a bite. Her face flushed; she turned towards JNPR. "I have to give my full blessing to my partner's brilliant plan."

Pyrrha had taken a moment to eat her serving of the dessert. "Jaune is ours (mine!) and I am afraid you cannot have him. I have already stopped one attempted kidnapping, and now I have Ren and Nora to help me protect Jaune."

"I'm still here. You all realize that right?" Jaune asked.

"Silence, Fugitive. We're objectifying you," Yang jokingly snapped. Her grin became enormous. "Say, if we _are_ objectifying Jaune...anyone else vote he takes his pants off?"

"Only if Ren does too!" Nora crowed. "Off with those pants boys! Time for a giant step forward for Gender Equality!"

Yang, by this point, was dying laughing. There was no way she _couldn't_ be running full speed into a comedic fatality. Nora was a hoot. Pyrrha and Ruby were as red as their hair and cloak respectively. Weiss was looking down in her lap, desperately trying to make her blush less conspicuous. Yang's partner was staring owlishly at Yang. Blake gasped and tried to hide her blush with her hands. The Brawler and Nora exchanged a look that could be construed as _'It looks like steam is coming out of her ears!'_

"Well? What are you boys waiting for?" Yang demanded.

Nora crossed her arms. "Yeah! I'm in the mood for dinner and a show! Get going!"

"DAMN IT, YANG!" Jaune cried out in embarrassment. The fact that _his_ blush put everyone else to shame just made the night better. After a few minutes, the two teams had somewhat calmed down. Ruby and Pyrrha had decided to help Jaune clean up the kitchen. Everything had reached a period of almost zen-like calm.

Then, Nora decided to Nora like Nora had never Nora'd before. "But seriously...Renny...Jaune...you need to take those pants off."


	4. Chapter 4

Lie Ren was a creature of routine. He awoke exceptionally early to prepare for the day. As he headed to the restroom to attend to his hygenic needs, he said a quick good morning to Pyrrha. The stoic young man could definitely respect the work ethic of his teammate. She was leaving the dorm exactly at sunrise for her morning run.

In all honesty, Ren believed that JNPR was as close to a perfect situation as Ren was likely to get at Beacon. Jaune was an excellent friend and a very solid leader. Ren's 'brother-from-another-mother' as Nora had dubbed Jaune listened well and was incredibly driven. Fortunately, Jaune was driven towards positive pursuits. Lie Ren found Jaune's situation with Pyrrha and Team RWBY fairly amusing. It wasn't every day one found themselves as the best friend of a person trapped in a real world harem comedy. Ren was grateful for three things regarding Jaune's situation. First, he was complimentary of Nora while being respectful. Second, Jaune wasn't being a jackass and toying with Pyrrha, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss's budding feelings. Finally, Ren was actually grateful for Jaune calling Ren out in regards to Nora.

The situation _was_ complicated, but that was likely a mess of Ren's own making.

Nora and Ren were basically all the family the pair had. They had been together since...since the Grim. Nora had been a part of his life since the hyperactive redhead had grabbed his hand and led him to safety as the Goliath breached the walls.

Realization crashed down around him just like the walls. He was _afraid_. Nora Valkyrie; the hyperactive, somewhat loopy, and beautiful young woman, was a cornerstone of Lie Ren's very identity. She was the one constant throughout all the refugee camps, orphanages, Combat School, and now Beacon. The thought of altering the comfortable dynamic was far more horrifying than the King Taijito had been.

 _'She...did want me to take my pants off,'_ Ren mulled over the odd thought. _'But with Nora...you can never tell...'_

He wasn't sure how to proceed. The kitchen was a quiet refuge from his thoughts. And the snoring of two of his best friends. _'No wonder Pyrrha seems so eager to leave in the mornings. Jaune and Nora seemingly hit the turbo on their snoring the closer it gets to 7am.'_

Jaune wasn't the only cook on Team JNPR. Ren may not have the breadth of Jaune's cooking experience, but he was confident in one area.

Pancakes.

 _'I'll have to talk with Jaune about that,'_ Ren decided as he completed cooking breakfast. A sniffle from the bedroom caused Lie to snap around. That was clearly Nora. He knew she occasionally got night-terrors from the destruction of their first home. There was something odd about the troubling subdued reaction. "What could it be?"

The rhetorical question was seemingly answered by Jaune's Waste Bucket. _'Go find out,'_ reverberated through Ren's head. The 'ninja' blinked and wondered if there really was a reason Jaune insisted that everyone 'capitalize' Waste Bucket.

"Nora?" Ren whispered as he walked towards his partner's bed. "I have a double stack."

The Valkyrie rubbed her eyes. "Thanks Renny."

"Was it..."

"Not this time, Renny...but thanks for being...you know... _here._ I just found out something horrible about sloths!" Nora grabbed her scroll and forced it into Ren's hands.

An article on the...dangers of sloth bathroom habits was open, bookmarked, and even annotated was dominating Nora's Scroll.

"I was unaware sloths faced such...difficulties," Ren said diplomatically.

Nora nodded furiously. "It makes me sad. Sloths are the cutest animal in the world. So...I'm designing something to help them!" She snatched her Scroll back. "The Sloth Stop is a toilet that uses a combination of camouflage, artificial sloth pheromones, and not-being-on-the-ground to let the precious sloths crap in complete comfort and safety!"

"You have certainly put a great deal of thought into this," Ren graced his words with a relaxed smile. Nora returned the smile two hundred-fold. "Eat the pancakes and I'll look up patent information."

The Valkyrie reached up and 'boop-ed' Ren on the nose. "You're the best Renny."

_'Maybe...if I could stop being a coward.'_

* * *

Teams JNPR and RWBY had fallen into a comfortable routine over the next couple of weeks. Jaune had cooked a few other meals, but they had all been relatively simple. Beacon was working the students incredibly hard. The eight teens were definitely looking forward to the recovery weekend coming up. First, they had to get through Goodwitch's sparring classes. As Goodwitch called Ruby and Tenné to the ring, Pyrrha and Weiss approached Jaune.

"Sup, ladies?" The Arc asked as he prepared Crocea Mors for his inevitable match.

"RWBY was thinking about heading into Vale this weekend," Weiss mentioned. "I've talked with Pyrrha and Nora about it and they want it to make a joint team outing."

"And...you want me to cook?"

Jaune's partner shook her head at his question. "Actually, we weren't going to ask. You've cooked all of us several wonderful meals. We don't want you to think that you are are friend just because of your cooking. Blake, Yang, and I thought it would be nice to treat _you_ to dinner somewhere."

"There's also a Spruce Willis movie coming out," Weiss mentioned.

The Knight smiled. "Let me guess, Nora wants an action movie night?"

"Ruby and Nora to be precise," Pyrrha cut in. "Though...I have not had many chances to enjoy such movies."

Weiss was mostly paying attention to her partner's match. She huffed as Ruby dodged a gout of flame fired from Tenné's Kanabō. "Stop being nice, Ruby." The heiress turned her attention back to her other two friends. "I've only seen artistic films. Nora's movie seems like a nice change of pace."

"Those really confusing indie movies that do things like have a bowl of pudding serve as a metaphor for the malleability of life?"

"Jaune," Weiss ground out. "How do you know about _that_ movie?"

"Well, my oldest sister Joncquille helped write that movie," Jaune confessed.

Pyrrha frowned as she thought. "The only person who got credit for "Custard Solstice" was Ĵaluzo Verda."

"A question and a detail." Jaune ticked off each point with a finger. "First, why would you even watch a movie called "Custard Solstice"? Second, my sister's film class at Montross actually ghostwrote the movie."

"Premier. It wasn't by choice," Pyrrha admitted. "I had no idea what was going on. The symbolism was...dense?"

"Winter loves that movie. She made me watch it twice," Weiss admitted. Quickly, she stamped her foot. "RUBY!" The Schnee heiress stormed off to question why her partner was so nice in matches.

Jaune chuckled. "I hope knowing my sister is responsible for "Custard Solstice" hasn't made you question our partnership."

"There is nothing to worry about, Jaune. I am very aware that you have normal tastes in movies." Pyrrha responded.

Goodwitch proctored the next few matches. There were two matches in between Ruby and Tenné. The only one he paid a lick of attention to was the second member of Team ACDT. It was a solid enough fight. Dalm and Atian were cheering wildly alongside Tenné. Jaune was happy to see the Faunus twins being respected.

 _'When is a fight I'll care about going to happen?'_ Jaune mused.

For once the universe decided to mock Jaune in a non-lethal manner. Professor Glynda Goodwitch strode forward. "The next match is Nora Valkyrie and Cardin Winchester. Would both combatants step into the arena?"

Cardin rested his enormous mace on his shoulder and strode cockily into the arena. Nora looked excitedly between her teammates.

"Good luck, Nora," Pyrrha said first.

Jaune flashed Nora a smile. "Go all out."

"Thanks guys! And Pyrrha...don't you mean...break a leg?" Nora smirked. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Show them why we are so proud of you," Ren said simply. Nora commenced with a 'Boop'. Jaune noticed a few details that stood out. First, Nora trembled a bit. She had _never_ done that. Second, she had the faintest blush in the history of blushes. Pyrrha and Jaune exchanged a sly look. Nora produced Magnhild and skipped into the arena.

Jaune moved closer to Pyrrha. "Cardin's doomed."

"Nora has never looked more determined," the Invincible Girl agreed.

"I have a plan," Jaune announced. He was careful to keep his voice level. Ren's attention was completely focused on Nora. "This weekend...we're going to get them together-together."

"Wait," Pyrrha held up a hand. "They _are not a couple?"_

"Not together-together was the phrase Ren used," Jaune answered the question as Pyrrha's jaw dropped.

"But..."

"Tell me about it," Jaune flashed a smile and motioned to the arena.

Goodwitch gave the 'go' signal and the match was on. Cardin opened the match with a wild charge. His mace held so low that the speed of his charge was actually causing sparks to dance in his wake. Nora was smiling the entire time; Magnhild held in a low ready stance.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Nora said in the most dangerous tone Jaune had ever heard his friend use. The hyperactive ball of Boop and Hammertime swung her enormous warhammer at Cardin's knees.

"Oh god, she's trying to break his legs..." Jaune groaned. Both men of JNPR buried their heads in their hands at the same time. Pyrrha patted Jaune comfortingly on the back. The team leader looked up just as Cardin jumped clear of the attack. A curse escaped the much larger warrior's lips. The only thing on Nora's lips at the moment was a wicked grin promising a world of hurt. Nora's strength was soon on display as she swung the great weapon single-handedly. The overhead strike induced another curse from Cardin, an "Oh shit!" this time.

Nora was far more clever than anyone, save Ren, gave her credit for. Jaune frowned as he promised to never underestimate his friend again. "Nora is awesome."

"She baited Cardin beautifully," Pyrrha agreed.

"GO NORA!" Ruby and Yang called out from Team RWBY's position.

The attack clipped Nora's opponent in the shoulder. Cardin proved his skill by landing in a combat stance. His vicious swing actually cut a gash into the metal portion of Nora's combat uniform. A grenade shot helped Nora avoid the follow up swing. The two combatants were amongst the physically strongest of their class at Beacon.

"Cardin doesn't have Nora's maneuverability. Magnhild gives Nora an edge, but neither combatant can take a hit," Jaune pointed out. No one disputed the last point of Jaune's. Magnhild was an enormous warhammer that Nora could swing around like one of those really annoying party noisemakers. Cardin's flanged mace screamed brutality.

Nora slammed Magnhild's head into the arena floor creating a massive dust cloud. Ren smiled. "There we go, Nora."

"Are you sure they are not in a relationship?" Pyrrha whispered to Jaune. The tone of the question made it clear it was somewhat rhetorical and in jest.

Jaune smirked at Nora's match. She had silently shifted to her grenade launcher. A trio of explosions bracketed Cardin. Jaune observed the battle and started thinking of ways to incorporate Nora's tactics into JNPR's overall strategies. She of the Boop made continued to set the tone of the engagement. Nora continued to disguise her attempts to break Cardin's legs as a legitimate strategy. The pair exchanged a few blows, but nothing substantial.

Ruby had slipped away from her team and approached Jaune and Pyrrha. "Jaune, tell me if I'm crazy, but..."

"You're crazy," Jaune assured his friend. Silver and green eyes rolled in unison at Jaune's friendly teasing. "But?"

Ruby continued as if Jaune's interruption hadn't happened. "Nora is playing for time. She doesn't have Cardin's freakish Aura reserves. There hasn't been a chance for a knockout blow and she can't whittle him down because of how the arena is set up."

Despite the _competition_ between the girls, there was a great deal of mutual respect. Pyrrha beamed at the younger Huntress. "That is very observant and quite accurate."

"Thanks, Pyrrha," Ruby responded to the comment. Her happiness at the acknowledgment as an equal pushed away the twinge of 'I feel bad that my friend and I like the same guy' that occasionally nibbled at the back of Ruby's mind.

Nora made one last gambit. Her combo started high and involved a few grenades. Goodwitch, sadly for Nora and several of the spectators, called an end to the match before Nora could succeed in her personal quest. Her final explosive-fueled leap had placed her in perfect position to crush Cardin's right knee.

"Aww..." Nora complained. Proffessor Goodwitch critiqued both combatants. Jaune vaguely heard the details. Nora's assessment was pretty much what Jaune and Ruby had expected. Nora returned to Team JNPR smiling at her victory. Her smiled faltered, somewhat jokingly, as she looked between her teammates. "I couldn't break his legs."

"You made a valiant effort." Jaune nodded.

The next few matches were fairly standard. Jaune supported his partner in her match, but there was nothing to critique. He had trained with her a great deal during the past couple of weeks. JNPR's strategies involving Pyrrha mostly revolved around teaming up with Jaune to form a shield wall while Ren suppressed other targets so that Nora could bring the hammer down. There were naturally other strategies, but Jaune had to see the specific situations of each mission before they could be formed. Pyrrha's match was over before it began really. Her reputation was as much of a weapon as Miló.

Weiss, Ren, and Yang all coasted through their fights. Jaune was proud of all his friends.

Then the moment he had been flipping between dreading and awaiting arrived. "Jaune Arc and Sky Lark."

"Wish me luck, ladies and Ren." Jaune was already heading to the arena. The shield component of Crocea Mors snapped to its full size with an audible _snap!_ Sky actually jumped a bit at the display. Jaune actually had no intention of intimidating his opponent. He wasn't going to pass up exploiting a potential advantage.

"Good luck, Jaune!" Ruby called out.

"Yes, good luck, Jaune!" Pyrrha added.

"Don't show off too much, Fugitive!" Yang cried out.

Blake flashed her usual small smile. "Good luck."

"Snap him in half!" Nora decreed royally.

Jaune shook his head mirthfully as he strode into the arena. Goodwitch gave him an appraising look. _'I think she's aware Dad and Ozpin pulled some strings and shuffled a few papers to get me in.'_

Sky seemed to shrink back a bit as the implications of five beautiful women cheering for Jaune. The Arc arced an eyebrow at his opponent. CRDL never interacted with JNPR or RWBY. Jaune had never paid the other team much attention. Now that the Knight was about to throw down with Sky, he took in a few details. The first was that Sky was wearing heavy armor like most of his team. _'Big on intimidation, small on substance,'_ Jaune thought.

He quickly continued his pre-match appraisal. Sky's weapon was a halberd with what appeared to be a gun built into the upper part of the weapon's shaft. Jaune was at a huge range disadvantage. The halberd combined with Sky's height and lanky arms provided a gigantic reach advantage. Beacon's training arena was also emptier than the deserts of Vacuo.

So, Jaune had one viable option.

He was going to have to go Full Yang/Nora. A voice in the back of his head warned him of the dangers that awaited him if he went Full Yang/Nora. Jaune wasn't sure he had much of a choice in this match. Cardin had shouted something at Sky, which was taken up by the rest of CRDL. It sounded harsh on the surface, but Jaune spoke Dude. They were ribbing their buddy. Sky actually smirked. The other young man's stance instantly improved.

 _'My friends outnumber your friends,'_ Jaune thought triumphantly. He smiled at the thought. Most of Jaune's life had been defined by family and vague acquaintances. The closest he had gotten to friends before Beacon were his dad and a few of his sisters. They were already family, so they really didn't count. Now, Jaune had friends he honestly couldn't believe he _knew_ much less considered close friends.

Jaune also had the support of six beautiful women. Five were even single! Jaune wasn't sure how to approach the tangled web that was the Team JNPR and Team RWBY mutual attraction situation. Granted, Ren and Nora were pretty much married, but they might as well be living in the ballroom given how much they danced around each other.

Anyway, the fight...

It was time to go full Yang/Nora. Jaune started the fight with as close to a sprinter's start as he could manage. A battle cry escaped from the recesses of the knight's throat. Jaune made sure that it came from deep in his throat so it was deeper and hoarse. It worked! Sky hesitated for a single second, but Jaune had already taken a few more steps. He was that much closer.

The **crack** of Sky's Gun Halberd revealed that Jaune's opponent had regained his wits. Jaune had positioned his shield near perfectly. He knew nothing was _perfect._ He could already hear the critiques from Pyrrha and Weiss. Those critiques were drowned out by the impacts against his shield. The L of Team CRDL had aimed for center-mass in pretty much the textbook manner.

"Hyaaaaaa!" Sky cried out as the shots stopped and the overhead swing began. Jaune saw it coming and sidestepped quickly. He swung at the exposed area of Sky's torso. Jaune realized he hadn't given Sky enough credit. The other boy had jumped backwards to avoid the glaringly obvious counter attack.

Still, it really hadn't be executed all that great. Jaune's strike managed to carve a pretty wicked scratch in Sky's armor. _'Oh great, it really is for intimidation only. A freaking Beowulf would treat that armor like a can of Spam.'_

Jaune cursed at the surprising strength behind Sky's second swing. The shield of Crocea Mors held true. The Chef's opponent cursed with equal venom as he couldn't both overpower or drive his weapon's axehead through Jaune's defenses. Jaune tried to counter with a quick thrust, but Sky pulled the best move of the spar. He caught Jaune's forearm between his upperarm and chest. The two young men struggled to gain any form of leverage.

 _'Think Jaune! You are a team leader! Use your head!'_ Jaune screamed at himself. In that moment, Jaune had truly gone full Yang/Nora. _'Damn it, Yang.'_

Jaune used his head. Stars erupted behind Jaune's eyes. Sounds became muted and Jaune honestly had no clue what was really going on. All he could tell, vaguely, was that Pyrrha, Blake, Ren, and Ruby were yelling in surprise. Weiss was gaping like a fish out of water at what had happened.

Yang and Nora...

Yang and Nora were both on the ground laughing and reveling in their shared madness.

"The winner...and likely concussed young man...Jaune Arc," Goodwitch sighed.

Jaune tried to stumble out of the arena, but JNPR and RWBY quickly swarmed him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she rushed to support her partner.

"That was..." Ruby fumed. She thought it was cool, but her very very very close boy...friend was supporting the most obvious concussion the Reaper had ever seen. Concussions were _not cool._

"Skull cool?" Yang offered with a hopefully smile. She desperately hoped someone would add to the pun assault.

"I am proud of our fearless leader. He is certainly trying to get to the head of the class!" Nora followed up.

Yang jumped up and down excitedly. "Ruby...Blake, I think you need to face facts. Nora is my favorite for today. Maybe ever."

"Oh Oum...please...please stop. No more," Weiss moaned in physical and psychological pain at the puns.

"Miss Nikos," Goodwitch interrupted. "If you would take your partner to the infirmary."

Pyrrha nodded. "I will make sure he undergoes a concussion check."

"Thank you," the witch said. "Mr. Winchester...if you would do the same for your teammate."

Cardin acknowledged the professor. He was showing genuine concern for his friend and didn't take a shot at Jaune or even glare. The trip passed without incident. His head may have felt as if it was going to roll off his shoulders, but Jaune couldn't help smiling the entire way.

* * *

"Why...why did I headbutt Sky?" Jaune whined as he clutched Waste Bucket tightly.

Pyrrha rubbed Jaune's back gently. "I will admit that 'using one's head' is a valuable skill for a team leader, but I do not believe _that_ use was what Professor Ozpin meant. You were magnificent. I just feel that an...alternative strategy would have sufficed"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time..." JNPR's leader whispered pitifully.

Team RWBY had joined JNPR in their dorm after classes. Yang, bless her insane heart, had brought over a glass of water. "Thanks, Yang."

"Eh, don't mention it. You're a half-decent guy, Fugitive."

There was silence as Jaune finished suffering. He quickly took the soiled Waste Bucket out of the room and cleaned it as well.

While Jaune was out of the room, Ruby turned to everyone. "So, you guys hear the joke going around campus?"

"Nope, but I wanna," Nora beamed.

The Reaper laughed a bit. "Everyone is saying that we're actually the one team. People are beginning to think we bribed _Goodwitch_ with something to set all this," Ruby explained while motioning to everyone present, the general direction of Jaune, and their dorms. "up. Team ACDT is on our side though."

"That team has Jaune's friends from the airship on it," Blake mentioned idly. She flipped a page in Gris' travel memoir. "Jaune's very public pro-Faunus position has made him popular with the Faunus community here at Beacon."

 _'And with me,'_ Blake confessed silently.

"What did I miss?" Jaune asked as he came back. He still looked rough, but not as though he had been dragged behind a stampeding Goliath for a few hundred feet.

"Everyone at Beacon thinks we're one team," Weiss informed Jaune.

"We aren't?" The question Jaune asked was completely legitimate. He looked to Pyrrha and Ruby who nodded. The Chef turned to Ren and Nora. It was go time. "Hey, Nora. You get to pick dinner tonight!"

The 'I can't believe they aren't actually together-together' couple both went wide eyed at the declaration. "PANCAKES!" Nora yelled as she bolted from the room.

"Nora! Wait!" Ren called out. The thunderbolt had already escaped the room. The ninja was only a few steps behind.

"We only have a few minutes," Jaune said quickly. "Weiss and Pyrrha, fill us in."

Pyrrha motioned politely to Weiss. The Heiress smiled. "Pyrrha and I have called in a few favors, but for women of our _talents_ it was quite simple. The sloth exhibit for Sunday has been rented out four an hour and a half."

"Perfect," Ruby exclaimed. "If this doesn't work, I'll eat an oatmeal raisin cookie!"

The declaration caused everyone to freeze in their tracks. Jaune looked to everyone and gulped. "This isn't a concussion symptom is it?"

"No, I heard it too," Blake said wide-eyed and terrified.

Yang _cackled_ at her sister's declaration. "I will hold you to that!"

"But, we're all on board for the plan?" Jaune asked.

"I will definitely assist our friends," Pyrrha was the first to respond.

Weiss crossed her arms. "Those two will need some kind of push. It's up to us to provide it."

"We're _all in,"_ Blake cut in. Yang and Ruby gave an enthusiastic high fives. "But are we really going to have to eat what Nora chooses? Do we have any leftovers?"

There were negative head shakes all around. Blake paled. "C-Can't Jaune cook something?"

"That would be...preferable. I'm not sure Jaune is in any condition to cook, sadly," Pyrrha added as calmly as possible.

"Not with the concussion," Jaune broke the news gently. "The water Yang gave me tasted like Beef Wellington."

There were blinks all around. No one really knew how to respond to that. It was then Nora returned. She was carrying a cart over her shoulder while pushing another. Ren followed in her wake with a tray full of drinks.

"It was a Pancake Night!" Nora cried out. "We have enough for everyone!"

Everyone smiled at the grand entrance. As Nora put down the cart, Yang dashed across the room and scooped Nora up in a gigantic hug. "Never change, Nora."

* * *

Teams RWBY and JNPR were thrilled for the recovery weekend. Beacon had been pushing them incredibly hard. Everyone needed the break. Jaune's concussion would be fully healed after the glorious four-day weekend. Vale was lively. The teens loved the energy of the city. It was a welcome change from the structure of Beacon and classes.

"This is so great. A four day weekend...no Port...no Oobleck..." Yang sighed in transcendent happiness.

Ruby skipped alongside her partner. "I want to get some magazines! Last time...well...Roman interrupted."

"Guy is probably the _caaaaampiest_ man in all of Vale. I mean, I use some pretty nifty makeup, but _holy crap._ I weep, weep, that my fabulousness will never be on that level," Nora complained/mocked.

A low thunderous rumble cascaded throughout the sidewalk. The horrific noise echoed off the buildings. The two teams looked back and forth.

"Lunch?" Ren asked.

"Lunch," Weiss agreed.

"How about that place?" Ruby pointed down the boulevard. "It has a TV crew at it. That must mean it is good!"

Jaune's jaw dropped. He tried to find the words to warn Ruby and the others. Warnings and cautionary tales died on his lips. Ruby had grabbed Yang and Weiss by the hands. The pint-sized Reaper was dragging them towards the small eatery. Pyrrha, Blake, and Nora seemed so happy. They were so excited. None of them had any clue...

"Is everything alright, Jaune?" Ren asked his bro. Jaune swallowed. He raised his index figure to make a point, but failed. He simply looked down at the ground. There was no avoiding it now.

This was happening.

"YOU FUCK-FACED URSA! YOU CALL THIS SHITE MEDIUM! IT'S FUCKING RAW, YOU ASS! I WOULDN'T FEED THIS FUCKING RAW SLAB OF PLASTIC TO A BEOWOLF! DO ME A FAVOR?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Poor innocent Ruby's eyes were as large as the shattered moon. "T-That's what the beeps were covering?"

"Is that...Gris Forneau? Weiss gasped. Jaune sighed. This was actually happening. Oh Oum above, this was becoming a thing.

"W-What?" A chastised voice finally spoke up from inside the restaurant.

" **FUCK OFF!"** Legendary TV host and chef Gris Forneau roared. His exit was so violent, that the door nearly came off the hinges. Any doubt that it was the infamous Huntsman-turned-world-class-Chef who had just used more foul language than Ruby had ever heard died. There was no mistaking his close cropped blond hair, his traditional chef's uniform, his bright red hyper-pissed skin mode, or his infamous chin-in-hand pose. Jaune took a few steps forward and took point.

"Jaune?" Nora whispered nervously.

A pair of steel-blue eyes shot up and locked onto Jaune. A smile worked its way across Gris' face. "Finally! Jaune, get your ass in there! I need someone to show those donkeys how to fucking cook a meal."

"J-Jaune...how does the angry scary man know who you are?" Yang whimpered.

The leader of JNPR took a deep breath and smiled. "Sure thing..."

"...Dad."


	5. Chapter 5

Orchids was completely silent. Everyone had seen Gris Fourneau go off on his program before. It had been kind of funny when separated by distance and filtered through their TV screens. The experience of his anger in person was something no one was really expecting. There was also the niggling sense of doubt as to whether he would even return. A sense of shock hovered throughout the small eatery. At this point the owner, Ms. Orquídia, would only really be shocked by a horde of Grimm storming Vale.

The universe then decided that Ms. Orquídia was a far more entertaining target than Jaune Arc in that moment.

Scattered conversation had slowly returned to Orchids following Fourneau's rampaging exit. The small little embers of life were adding warmth to the tastefully decorated restaurant. Unfortunately, the conversations were quickly snuffed out. Gris returned, an arm draped around the shoulder of a lanky teenager that looked shockingly like the infamous chef. The smile adorning the fountain of volatile anger was shocking. A tall, dark-headed, and collected young man and a shorter redheaded fireball of a girl followed in the Chef's wake. Everyone got the the impression that pair weren't sure if they should keep a friendly distance from each other or hold hands.

"Beef Wellington?" The teenager next to Gris laughed out loud. "Are you sure you aren't messing with me, dad?"

"It's today's special. Some how these damned idiots cocked it up," Gris explained. Jaws dropped throughout Orchids. The fact that Gris even had a son was a stunning revelation. What was more incredible was that Gris Fourneau...sounded... _happy_ with another human being. He had barely used any foul language when talking to the boy.

"Hey, can you do me a favor before I get started? My friends will need a table," Jaune asked his dad.

"Friends?" Gris asked while Jaune rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands.

"Pyrrha, Ruby, Ren, Nora, Weiss, Blake, and Yang," Jaune rattled off the names of his friends as they filtered into the dining area.

Ms. Orquídia gulped. "Pyrrha...Nikos and...is 'Weiss', Miss Schnee?"

Jaune beamed. "Yeah, Pyrrha's my partner and she's teaching me not to stab myself with my weapon. I use the pointy end, right Pyrrha?"

"You _can_ learn," Pyrrha joked.

Yang fist pumped. "Pyrrha! You made an actual joke! I'm so proud of you!" Never let it be said that Yang Xiao Long had any concept of 'Hey, I've got four cameras filming my interactions with my friends. Maybe I should calm down?' The Blonde Brawler proceeded to pull Pyrrha into a hug that threatened to suffocate Pyrrha in her chest.

"And Weiss is Weiss," Jaune added as he diverted his gaze. He didn't particularly want to, but springing a boner on TV wouldn't be the best idea.

"Hey!"

Jaune rolled his neck as he strolled into the kitchen. "Talk to me people! What's going on?" There was no response. Jaune sighed and he clapped harshly. "Talk to me people! Orders up? What are we running low on? I'm glad we aren't in the Emerald Forest! Taladris could sneak up on us with a marching band with everyone this out of it!"

"Well..." A sous-chef stammered. He began rattling off orders. Jaune sprang into action and started preparing the meals. He would shout out orders and instructions to the other cooks.

Gris couldn't help but beam at his son's actions. "This is what you call taking control of a fucking kitchen! I want you to tell me all this 'useless noise' isn't getting the meals moving at a proper bloody pace!"

In the dining area, the single ladies were very intrigued by the driven and commanding Jaune in the kitchen.

"So, _that's_ the Jaune Ozpin put in charge," Ruby whispered.

Pyrrha was very pleased by the commanding, confident Jaune. There was none of the self-deprecation, sarcasm (even if Pyrrha found Jaune's dry wit highly amusing), or hesitation that occasionally cropped up in Jaune's mannerisms.

Blake's thoughts were along the same lines as Pyrrha's musings. However, she was mostly nervously debating whether or not ordering the grouper was a good idea.

"You useless fuckwits!" Gris bellowed. "Have you not been paying attention to the actual fucking cook? Pull your heads out of your asses and _talk to each other!_ If you had opened your mouths, Kulta wouldn't have run into Sininen and dropped the last of the fucking grouper!"

"Noooooooo!" Blake wailed and rested her head on the table. The young woman received a sympathetic back rub from her team leader.

"I'm sure we can convince Jaune to make some fish. Maybe that can be the dinner of cooking lessons!" Ruby chattered trying to cheer up her friend.

"Really?" Blake asked hopefully. Ruby looked to her friends with a blatant, _'Help me out here!'_ look.

"I am sure Jaune would enjoy teaching us," Pyrrha agreed. She remembered how second hand pleading had nearly gotten the girls a puppy, consequences be damned. A fraction of that would easily get Jaune to teach the girls to cook.

"Take over!" Jaune shouted at someone. He sounded...a bit angry. No one was really sure what was going on, but the owner did not look happy. "Cutting this off already. One, yes this wasn't ordered. Two, no you won't be getting a quarter of a lien from this. Three, my friend out there is upset so go choke on it."

Everyone's eyes went wide. It appeared that Jaune _did_ in fact get a fraction of his dad's temper. JNPR's leader just had an aversion to profanity. "Weiss! Need a glyph."

"What?" Weiss shouted back. She rolled her eyes and headed to the kitchen The remainder of JNPR and RWBY watched closely as Weiss talked to Jaune. "Okay! Ice cream flavors, people!"

Everyone called out their favorites, which was mostly chocolate and vanilla. Ruby demanded strawberry.

"Alright Weiss, normally this would take four hours, but we're going to cheat. I need your to freeze the hell out of all this ice cream," Jaune explained.

Weiss gave a confused look. "You want me to use my Semblance...to freeze ice cream even more than usual?"

"So I can fry it," Jaune confirmed.

"O-Okay..." Weiss just decided to agree with Jaune. He had made her like _tacos_. Somehow, he had turned cornflakes, chicken, milk, and salt and pepper into an amazing meal. The heiress was confident he could pull this off.

The glyph appeared and Jaune flashed Weiss an appreciative smile. "This'll give the tarts a run for their money."

"We'll see about that, Arc," Weiss laughed as she returned to the booth JNPR and RWBY were waiting.

Jaune turned to Ms. Orquídia. "I'm about to introduce you to your new bestselling dessert. If you want to thank me, don't say another word."

Gris was pleased by the steel in his son's spine and the fire in his belly. _'To think, his fucking mother wanted him to be a fucking lawyer.'_

Jaune rushed through the creation of the batter. He had to act quick. The outward reason was that he had to prepare the treats quickly. The real reason was simply that he wanted to be out of this incompetent place and hang out more with his friends. Fortunately, frying the process was quick. Jaune also played to the cameras. He explained how to prepare the dessert quickly and clearly.

"Help me out, dad?" Jaune asked as he put the fried ice cream on a tray. Gris nodded and helped out Jaune. "Ladies...Ren...oh, and Yang."

"Very funny, Fugitive," Yang chuckled.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Here you go Blake. I think they could hear how disappointed you were in being denied fish on Vytal."

"How do you even manage to fry ice cream?" Blake asked, astonished by the concept.

"Very carefully," the cook answered cheekily.

Blake was feeling better. She wasn't sure how everyone would react, but it would be fun. "Like how you hid in my cabin to avoid Captain Colcannon?"

"I wasn't exactly hiding carefully," Jaune countered and handed out the last of the ice cream.

Ruby and Nora devoured their options. Pyrrha took a few very satisfied bites and smirked at Jaune and Blake. "He hid very carefully in my bed on the airship."

"Bold," Jaune laughed. "You do realize Yang is going to **never** let any of us forget about this conversation, right?"

The group laughed, completely oblivious to the cameras. Ruby sighed as she tried to find a bit more of the dessert on her plate. "If I had known Jaune was this good a cook, I might have kept him in that box and to myself."

Gris burst out laughing as Jaune returned to the kitchen. His son returned a moment later. Nora still had her spoon in her mouth when she asked, "What was that all about?"

"Just had to make sure I didn't put liquor in the ice cream..." Jaune joked, but was clearly flustered by the messages, both verbal and non-verbal, the girls had sent. He _was_ quite shocked that Yang hadn't been cackling, teasing, or some combination of the two yet.

"Ow! You bit me!" Weiss snapped.

It was at that moment Yang returned in the full glory of the supremely amused. "T-This! This is the greatest moment ever! EVER! Fugitive! You sly dog! Did you plan all that on the airship? Please tell me you are some kind of hormone-driven mastermind!"

"I get motion sick on a go kart. What makes you think I'd get on an airship to plan something like that out in advance?" Jaune asked and noted his dad had slipped off to get back to work. JNPR and RWBY traded barbs, puns, and general banter for a few minutes.

Jaune had reached a single conclusion that was equally incredibly awesome and terrifying on a level that only a horde of Grimm could compete with: Blake, Pyrrha, and Ruby were legitimately into him. Not, Weiss and Yang 'teasing because it's funny' flirting, but one-hundred-percent legit 'We're all in to Jaune Arc' flirting.

 _'What the hell am I supposed to do now?'_ Jaune worried. He pulled out his scroll and fired off a simple message to his dad. Jaune Fourneau was definitely going to need a hell of a lot of paternal advice on this potential train-wreck.

* * *

A few hours later, Teams RWBY and JNPR were leaving the movie theater. Yang, Ruby, and Nora were providing an onamonapia filled review of the movie. Ruby was particularly enthused by the opportunity to make odd explosion noises. Pyrrha and Weiss were chatting amicably about how different mainstream movies were from the art house films they had been shackled to in the past. Jaune was lost in thought. He was so deep in his mobile mediation, that he had no idea Ren was next to him.

"Is everything okay, Jaune?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm fine, Ren." Jaune shrugged. "Feel confused about a few things."

"Understandable," Ren spoke a single word. Jaune chuckled at his friend's ability to say _everything_ in one word. "That isn't all, is it?"

"Is your Semblance the ability to read people?" The cook asked. Ren shook his head. "So, you're just that good?"

"Better. You just wear your emotions on your sleeves." Ren shared a laugh.

"Cheeky bastard!" Jaune shouted with mirth, earning a few concerned looks from the others.

Nora rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, ladies. Our two favorite doofs are just speaking in Guy."

The girls were mollified by Nora's explanation and returned to their conversations, books, or private musings.

Blake...was mostly reading Gris' new book with renewed vigor. She had met the man and was curious to see how her perceptions would change. The Faunus found her thoughts turning unbidden to comparing her friend to his father. Blake found herself curious as to how Jaune had been shaped by Gris Fourneau. _'He certainly has a much better response to his anger. I wonder what else I could get him to do...'_

Pyrrha cast another quick glance back to Jaune and Ren. The champion had no experience with brothers as an only child. Her experience with other men was also threadbare and honestly a bit unpleasant. Jaune and Ren were the most pleasant boys Pyrrha had ever met. _Especially Jaune_. Pyrrha had been flirted with before. A part of her liked the flattery, but it range hollow. They were flirting with The Invincible Girl, the Champion. None of her 'suitors' had frankly given a damn about Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune Arc clearly cared about _Pyrrha_ over the Invincible Girl. In fact, Jaune had only mentioned her skill a few times. Those times had been to thank her for helping with his own techniques or to just make small talk to avoid studying. Pyrrha was truly beginning to treasure him.

Yang was verbally poking at both Ruby and Nora. She was purposefully bringing up the romance subplot in the movie in an attempt to get some kind of reaction. Nora simply Nora'd, which was always fun. It just wasn't the reaction Yang had been hoping. Oh, but Ruby! Little sister had yet to upset her! Ruby flushed a little bit and cast a serendipitous glance to Jaune. Yang was shocked by the lack of urge to threaten and/or beat the hell out of Jaune in a bout of preemptive protectiveness. Fugitive was probably the best possible option for a first crush for Ruby. That didn't mean Yang would go easy on him. If he hurt Ruby, Yang would make Jaune wish he had shaved her head instead of hurting Ruby.

Jaune and Ren were completely unawares of the musings of their friends. The Arc/Fourneau simply continued where he had left off. "I'm just...trying to figure out how I view my family."

"How so?" Ren once again asked a great deal in just a few words.

"I've always been closer to my dad. You saw how he treated me. He was proud of me, he encouraged me...Dad is the only reason I'm even _at_ Beacon. Mom wouldn't let me go to Combat School. I don't resent her or even blame her that much. She...went in the opposite direction you and Nora did."

Ren looked away and nodded. Jaune didn't need to say anymore. "How did Gris, your father, get you into Beacon?"

"He won't tell me the story, but he worked directly with Ozpin on 'missions'. Dad spent two full days talking with Professor Ozpin. I don't know really what they talked about, but when Dad finally got back in touch with me, he had my Beacon papers. Anyway, between that and just generally being a lot more supportive of me and my dreams, I've always been a heck of a lot closer to Dad."

"And?" Ren pressed. There was clearly more to the story.

Jaune sighed. "I haven't been thinking of myself as Jaune Arc all day. It's been Jaune Fourneau. I kinda feel bad about it. Sort of like I'm ditching my mom and sisters."

"Have you talked to your father about it?"

"Not really, but kinda."

Ren smiled at Jaune. "You were made leader of JNPR for a reason. Jaune, you'll be fine."

"Thanks buddy." Jaune felt a metaphorical weight lift off his shoulders. He let his guard down and simply decided to enjoy the rest of the evening.

None of the students had noticed that they had been followed for some time. Sininen, the bird Faunus cook from Orchids, had actually been tailing. He had snuck a few pictures of JNPR and RWBY of the half-hour he had tracked his quarry. The Faunus felt confident he had sufficient evidence and slipped away. _'They have to know.'_

* * *

Today was the day. Jaune nodded at his myriad, and beautiful, co-conspirators. They all nodded back as Nora rattled off a series of facts about the four-chambered stomachs that made up nearly thirty percent of a sloth's body weight.

"Guys! I know you are saying it's a surprise, but why did it take us so long to get here?" Nora griped. She had woken up at _five am_ out of sheer excitement the second Pyrrha had mentioned 'sloth exhibit at the zoo'. Luckily for everyone and for the plan, Nora had practically draped herself over Ren the entire day.

"We're going to check out the Sloths first," Nora declared. "No arguments, no alternative suggestions, **nothing other than 'Yes, Nora. Sloths are amazing and we should go there first.'** So, sloths?"

"Sloths," Ruby and Jaune quickly agreed. Nora practically dragged a surprisingly fidgety Ren to the exhibit.

Jaune turned to his fellow conspirators. "Something's up."

"Do you think Ren knows about The Plan?" Blake whispered.

Ruby shook his head. "We've all been so careful."

"Maybe," Weiss mused with a series of taps to her chin. "Maybe 'Renny' has a plan of his own?"

"The possibility exists..." Pyrrha supplied.

"We'll have to wing it and work with him," Yang backed up her friends. JNPR and RWBY worked their way through the crowds to the Sloth Exhibit. Truth be told, Weiss and Pyrrha didn't exactly have to break the bank or fight off the unwashed masses to secure the hour and a half.

Pyrrha took the lead as the zoo attendant smiled at the large group. "Miss Nikos, we are honored that you, Miss Schnee and your associates..."

"Friends," Weiss corrected instantly. Pyrrha wished she had the social courage to be so forward. Especially in circumstances such as these.

"Our apologies," the public relations sap said. "We are very excited to provide this unique look at the wonderful conservation work our zoo does. Also, I notice that Mr. Lie is with you! Wonderful! You will be pleased to hear that everything is prepared."

Nora's jaw dropped. "I think I know where this is going."

"If you would all please follow me, we can begin the tour. I am also excited to announce Dr. Cinzento Folivora will be joining us for a few minutes of the tour. He is..."

" **ONLY THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPERT ON SLOTHS. GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY! ALL OF IT!"** Nora fangirled. She fangirled on a level that would bring cities to their knees.

Everyone couldn't help but smile at Nora's enthusiasm. The tour began with a basic overview of the public areas. Nora rattled off a series of concerns raised in a few studies about certain species of sloths and their reaction to captivity. The zoo did an admirable job of alleviating her concerns. Weiss surprised everyone by asking some hard-hitting questions about how the zoo would use all donations.

"You would be a really good reporter," Ruby praised her partner. Weiss smiled as she thanked Ruby.

Jaune wanted to speak with Ren about what his brother-from-another-mother had planned, but Nora had a grip on Ren's arm that was as secure any sloth grip. The J and P of JNPR exchanged a pleased, nonverbal 'conversation' about how The Plan was advancing so well.

Yang was about to make a, probably, pun-fueled observation. Jaune's Scroll put a hold on _that_ plan. "Excuse me, ladies...Ren."

The Arc slipped off to the side as Nora began her freak out over Dr. Cinzento Folivora's arrival.

"Hey, Dad."

Gris' voice was exuberant. "Jaune! Orchids had to close for the day. Really bad news, but some good news."

"Give me the bad," Jaune said in an even voice. He had a sinking feeling and didn't want to alarm anyone.

"The owner had to head to the frontier. Her cousin's village was evacuated. Mass Grimm migration."

"Shit," Jaune breathed. Blake and Pyrrha looked up at the expletive. Jaune flashed them a 'Don't worry, we're good,' thumbs up. "How bad?"

Gris responded with a sigh of relief. "For once, we beat the Grimm to the village. Everyone got out."

Jaune knew that his dad always referred to Huntsmen and Huntresses as 'We' even though he hadn't been in the field since a few weeks after Jaune's third sister had been born nearly a decade ago. "Good to hear that we scored a win over the Grimm. That's not the good news you meant, though?"

"Not for us. Are you still at the zoo with your team and friends?" Gris asked.

"We've been here for a while. Things are going good," Jaune filled his dad in.

"Think they'd be mad if I stole you for a bit? We haven't had a chance to talk since your mom blew up about Beacon. Yubte is a fine place here at the zoo," Gris suggested. There was no mistaking the hope in his voice.

"I'll fill them in," Jaune promised. "Thirty minutes?"

"Thirty minutes works perfectly. You know how impossible it is for public transport to get anywhere on fucking time," Gris laughed.

The pair said their farewells. Jaune's sigh was noted by several of his friends.

"Is everything okay, Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Bad news, two things of good news, and some great news," Jaune said without preamble.

"What's the bad news? You always lead with the bad," Yang declared.

"Grimm hit a village on the frontier where the cousin of the owner of the restaurant where we ran into my dad lives. The great news is that the evacuation went off without a real hitch. No casualties among the people. The Good news is Dad wants to meet me for lunch in thirty since the other good news is that he doesn't have to film his show today."

Nora, still attached to Ren's arm, half-turned towards Jaune. "You don't get much time with your dad, do you Jaune?"

"Not as much as I would like," Jaune was honest in his reply.

Ruby grinned. "I'd actually be really happy if my daddy showed up right now..." She paused and looked quickly to Nora. Her hands waving wildly puncuated her hasty, "Not that I'm not loving the sloths...they are adorable...I..."

"Not worry, Ruby! I get it," Nora smiled.

The tour continued. Yang, Weiss, and Ruby went over to Nora and Ren to provide them with more camaraderie. Pyrrha and Blake approached Jaune. Pyrrha looked torn between happy that Jaune was getting a chance to spend time with family and sad that _she_ wasn't getting a chance to spend more time with him. Blake seemed to have a similar mindset, but she was nowhere near as obvious about her feelings as Pyrrha.

"Everything okay, ladies?" Jaune asked. He knew that neither of the beauties in front of him would take the lead in a social situation unless there was no other option.

"I am glad you are getting time to spend with your father," Pyrrha began. "Could you find out about the refugees? I would like to help them in any way I can."

Pyrrha was completely genuine. She was not seeking an 'in' to boost her own celebrity. _'Pyrrha actually hates her own celebrity,'_ Jaune reminded himself. For Jaune's partner, the fame she 'enjoyed' was simply a means to multiply the good she could do as a Huntress.

"Tell Chef Fourneau, thank you," Blake said. "Enjoy the time you have with your father, Jaune."

"I will...to, well, _everything_. Hope you have fun here with everyone," Jaune said before heading out. He weaved his way through the light crowds while his thoughts weaved around his current situations. The Fourneau son was really looking forward to just spending time with his dad. Gris could also help with Jaune's current situation. The looming entanglement was a cross between an enormous ego boost, emotional minefield, and an enormous opportunity. Jaune would never, ever, say he didn't like the attentions of several beautiful women. It was just he was cursed with being a nice guy with a healthy and abiding respect for women. He wasn't going to lead anyone on and hurt them.

Plus, the girls were all close friends. They'd probably all team up and kill him if Jaune tried playing them.

 _'I really need to talk to Dad...'_ Jaune half-lamented.

* * *

Sininen flexed his head crest in annoyance. He had pretty vital information and was being led around like a punk. Couriers were supposed to be treated with a bit more respect. People like Sininen literally carried the secrets of the Revolution! Everything had changed following the incident with the SDC train. Obviously a mid-level courier in Vale like Sininen wouldn't know about Undertakings of that nature, but word still leaked out.

 _'I wonder what kind of secrets that high-ranker took with her? Word is that Comrade Taurus has taken an active role in things,'_ the bird Faunus recalled some of the details he had heard. The door to the back room finally opened. A sister of the White Fang, a Capybara if Sininen was right, strode into the room. "Brother, before I take you to the Lieutenant, I will need you to answer three questions about this information."

"Absolutely, ma'am!"

"First. Could you give three details about the Faunus in the group that could confirm her identity?"

Sininen smiled. "She was very determined to hide her heritage. This 'Blake' concealed her ears beneath a large black bow. I believe she also used that fucking scent masker made by the SDC. Finally, I recognized her eyes. My cousin has feline traits. I'd recognize them anywhere."

"Are you sure her name was Blake?" The Capybara Faunus asked.

"The Schnee Heiress called her that,' the lower-ranking White Fang member confirmed. "Those two seemed close."

" **A SCHNEE?"** A voice roared forth from the back room. The physically imposing Lieutenant of the White Fang had Sininen in his grasp and nearly a full two feet off the ground before anyone could react. "She's friends with a fucking Schnee?"

"O-On the same Huntress Team at Beacon," the courier gulped.

"Of course that traitorous bitch went to cower behind Ozpin!" The Lieutenant spat as he dropped the avian Faunus. "Who else was she soiling herself with?"

"Pyrrha Nikos and the son of Gris Fourneau. I...I think there's a _thing_ brewing with the Jaune kid," Sininen squawked out. He shakily rose to his feet.

"You better have more proof than just your word," the Lieutenant hissed. Sininen offered his Scroll. The Lieutenant snatched the device away. A folder full of photos and a few videos was already open for viewing. "How'd you get away with taking so many photos and videos?"

"Pyrrha Nikos and Gris Fourneau are two of the biggest human celebrities on Remnant. No one would question taking photos of the "Invincible Girl" or videoing Gris Fourneau flipping out on my boss," the cook explained.

The White Fang officer grunted. He was actually surprised by the clever reasoning. The limited good mood was swept away in a tide of red anger. There was no mistaking it. _She_ was not only enjoying the company of a Schnee, but Sininen hadn't been exaggerating. "Our traitor...how much was she pumping out?"

"This Blake chick had no clue how many pheromones she was pumping out. Enough to use to season the food we were cooking," Sininen's comment was bitter.

"You did the right thing with this," the Capybara Faunus reentered the conversation.

The giant snorted in agreement. "Report back here tomorrow. The way you recovered this information was subtle. We're going to need subtle soon."

"Do you want me to go out swinging at work? I could probably piss off Gris Fourneau and paint him and his SDC handlers as publicly anti-Faunus."

"Not necessary, but we definitely need to start working the media..." The Lieutenant mused. "Head home. Be here tomorrow the second your shift ends."

Sininen saluted and dashed for the door. The giant White Fang officer groaned. "I'm going to contact Adam. He's going to be furious, but he needs to know."

His associate stepped forward. "Comrade Taurus won't do anything...rash, will he?"

" _I'm_ worried I'm going to do something rash. Blake was Adam's _right hand_. I always thought they were like _us..."_ There was clear hurt in the Faunus Revolutionary's voice. Adam was not just the warrior's commander, the provider of the vision of Faunus Liberation, or a peerless solider to the Lieutenant. No, Adam was his friend...his brother.

The other White Fang soldier closed the distance and did her best to wrap her arms around the officer. "We'll make it right, dear. She's made her choice and we will bring her to justice just like all the apostates to the cause and all of mankind."

"You know just what to say," the Faunus chuckled darkly. "I'm sure you'll be the one to lead the race traitors to the wall."

"Of course," the revolutionary chirped. "Good luck. Poor Adam, though, he doesn't deserve this."

* * *

Jaune embraced his dad warmly. "If you're five minutes early, you're on time."

"If you're on time, you're late," Gris recited the familiar greeting.

"And if you're late, just don't fucking show up," Jaune finished with a smile. Gris lead his son to a booth with a view of the kitchen. "Is this one of Ya'ax's restaurants?"

"It is, sadly, the bastard isn't here," Gris chuckled. "You know that every time we meet, Ya'ax spouts the same bullshit."

Jaune grinned. "He wants to hire me?"

The older chef straightened. His tone took on an odd accent. "Gris, Gris! That bo-ah of yours is a _gen-ar-at-ional_ talent! Tell him, I _have_ to get him in my restaurant in Atlas!"

"I can actually see and hear him say that!" Jaune pounded the table as he laughed. "D-Does he spin his index finger when he says generational?"

"You bet your ass he does!" Gris crowed. The mirth died down to manageable levels as the waitress nervously approached. She introduced herself as Zisa, provided the menus, and took their drink orders. Jaune nearly caused her to melt with just a smile and a compliment on her professionalism.

It took Jaune a moment to realize Gris was staring at him, crossed armed and amused. "What? What did I do, Dad?"

"I think we may have found your Semblance, you're a bloody charmer aren't you?" The Chef's teasing manner harbored a bit of pride.

Jaune sighed. "I guess. It's got me on the edge of trouble, I think."

The drinks arrived and Gris hit the breaks on the conversation for a moment. Zisa left with a smile that lingered a bit longer than professional when directed at Jaune.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Jaune asked and received a nod from his world-famous father. "This is going to get me in a rough spot."

"I take it this is about those girls that you showed up with?"

Jaune's posture was all the affirmation Gris needed, but Jaune continued. "Mostly. Nora and Ren, well, we're all trying to hook those two up."

"And the others?" Gris prompted.

"Well, Yang and Weiss are friends. Yang's flirts are kind of a running gag at this point. Weiss is Weiss. The issue is the rest of my friends. I mean, it's obvious with the rest. Problem is...they are all incredible."

"There are dozens of men who'd love to have the attentions of the Invincible Girl, much less her even acknowledge their existence."

Gris hadn't expected a hard look to fall over his son's face. "Is it so hard for people to use Pyrrha's _actual_ name?"

"I'm proud of your reaction," the former huntsman complimented his son. "And don't you think that is part of the reason you've won over the girls?"

"I guess. I get me and Pyrrha, but I can't deny there's a...I dunno...spark whenever I'm around Blake and Ruby too," Jaune admitted.

"This is not going to be the advice you probably were hoping for, Jaune. You are seventeen years old. No one is expecting you to fucking marry the first girl who bats her eyes at you. Let things develop naturally. If that spark is worth shit, it'll turn into a fire. _You'll know_. Trust your old man. I may have cocked this up with your mother, but I'm not completely useless in that regard," Gris assured his son.

A moment based before the food arrived. The two highly talented chefs gave the food the highest praise; they barely talked while eating. After the meal, they changed subjects. Jaune made sure to pass along both Pyrrha's and Blake's messages.

"I'll send some info to your Scroll, but I would check in with Oz. That clever bastard will know _exactly_ where you and your friends can do the most good," the Huntsman assured Jaune.

"Thanks!" The younger Fourneau exclaimed.

Gris grinned. "Let's head back to the kitchen so we can remind ourselves what a properly run kitchen looks like after being around those shits from Orchids."

Jaune grinned right back. "Let's! It's not like Ya'ax would complain too much. He'd probably try to hire me again."

The guess nearly turned into prophecy as Jaune once again had to fend off one of Remnant's most unorthodox job offers via telephone. Still, he was with his father. Everything just felt right.

* * *

Ruby had always wanted a Scroll. Enrolling at Beacon had been amazing on so many levels. One of those levels had _definitely_ been getting her own Scroll. She was almost always on it. Digital magazine subscriptions, blueprints for improvements to Crescent Rose, and more were at her fingertips.

 _'I hope they don't send Dad the bill if I go over Beacon's stipend...'_ Ruby chuckled nervously as she walked with her team and Pyrrha. They were currently in the Botanical Gardens. Operation Team Sloth had been a resounding success and now the girls were celebrating by looking at the gorgeous flowers. The Young Reaper sighed. The Botanical Gardens were probably the most romantic place Ruby had ever been. Her imagination kept wandering in this beautiful location. It also arrived at the same daydream.

Ruby was wishing she was alone with Jaune.

The thought made her incredibly happy. Jaune was probably the best boy she had ever met. The only problem was Jaune seemed to be the best boy _every girl_ had ever met. Worse, she was really good friends with two of the girls Jaune had unintentionally wooed. Which, now that Ruby thought about it made the situation more difficult. Jaune definitely wasn't toying with her feelings, or Pyrrha's, or Blake's. He was going out of his way to be as respectful as possible.

Even if Ruby could tell he was _in_ _to_ all of them. A thrill ran down her spine as Ruby realized he found her attractive.

_'If only he were here...'_

"Let's all get a group picture!" Ruby shouted to shift her attention back to her friends and away from her bittersweet longing.

"That sounds grand!" Pyrrha agreed.

"We are going to look so good," Yang snickered.

Weiss huffed. "Miss Xiao Long! Are you implying there are times where we _don't_ look amazing?"

"I think that's what that Yang meant," Blake teased.

Yang pouted, and in that moment, reminded everyone that she was in fact Ruby's sister. "I don't know whether to be proud that my partner made a joke or upset that she sided with Weiss-cream."

"Let's just take the picture," Weiss laughed daintily. Ruby had already used her considerable weaponized adorableness to convince a random mother and her family to take the picture.

"Oh!" The anonymous woman gasped. "You all are so lovely, but if you want a moment to prepare, please take your time."

"Thank you, Ruby for getting a woman to take the picture!" Weiss complimented her partner. The woman was exceedingly polite. It helped RWBY and Pyrrha's cause that the woman had recognized both Pyrrha and Weiss. The girls took a minute to get 'picture ready'. Satisfied with their efforts, they posed in front of a particularly beautiful tropical display. The gorgeous women had attracted quite the crowd of admirers. Fortunately, the crowd was light and none of the gawkers were willing to risk the ire of five trained Huntresses.

The girls poured over the picture. Yang was the first to speak. "Yeah, we're hot."

"The picture turned out great. Could you send that to us, Ruby?" Blake asked. Ruby nodded happily and complied. The second Ruby had hit send, she started a second message.

 _Hey, Jaune. Hope you had fun with your dad! Good news, Ren had set up a late lunch/early dinner (or as I like to call it_ linner _) and Nora nearly broke out in happy tears! I think we can call this mission a success! The rest of us girls are in the Botanical Gardens! It's soooooo pretty! Here, take a look!_

Half way across the zoo, a young man received a picture. All higher brain functions ceased as he took in the image of "Holy Shit, they are all so hot!" Jaune's first conscious decision after opening the picture and then openly drooling for several moments was to save the picture.

He fired back a text to Rubes telling her that she and the others looked amazing. Jaune also mentioned he was on his way. The girls dutifully waited at the gift shop. He arrived to find Weiss and Blake in the middle of a heated/humorous debate over which exceedingly tropical and pretty flower was the correct choice for the dorm room.

"Ladies!" Jaune greeted. "I'm glad the plants in the Botanical Garden can't talk!"

RWBY and Pyrrha turned to Jaune. They each wore a bemused grin. Yang and Weiss were expecting something corny as a joke. Blake, Pyrrha, and Ruby were all expecting some cheesy yet endearing pick up line.

"Why is that, Fugitive?" Yang decided to soft-toss to set up the punchline.

"Because I really don't want to hear a hundred beautiful flowers complaining about being upstaged so spectacularly by all of you."

Weiss shook her head. "Not bad, Arc."

"Not bad at all," Yang agreed. "Six out of Ten."

Jaune rolled his eyes as Pyrrha stepped forward to fill Jaune in on the 'Team Sloth' situation. It appeared that the mission went incredibly well in Jaune's mind. He dutifully followed the women around for a while. Occasionally, Jaune would receive jealous glares, silent slow claps, or other reactions. He honestly didn't care what others thought. _He_ was the one carrying on conversations and hanging out with five beautiful women. As far as he was concerned, today was already legendary.

What else could possibly make things better?

* * *

Lie Ren was actually wearing a smirk. An honest to Oum _smirk_. Jaune knew exactly what that smirk foreshadowed. "Things went well? Together-together, well?"

"That's underselling it," Ren admitted. Naturally, Jaune had only one adequate response. The chef held out his hand for a fist bump. Ren, being the top-tier bro that he was, responded instantly.

"Pyrrha and I need to find somewhere else to crash?" Jaune questioned with a grin of pure pride. Ren blushed and nodded. "Give us five minutes to get our stuff."

Jaune found his partner chatting happily with Blake about an upcoming book. He approached with a cocky grin. "Mind if I borrow my partner, Miss Belladonna?"

"Since you asked so politely, Mr. Arc," Blake teased right back.

"What is it, Jaune?" the Invincible Girl asked.

Jaune blushed a bit as the full weight of what he was about to say hit home. "Ren and Nora...kinda need the room tonight."

Pyrrha gaped like a fish for a moment. "They are...they are..."

"They are," Jaune confirmed. "You may need to crash with RWBY. I'm going to see if maybe I can crash with Dalm and Atian."

Suddenly a gloved hand appeared on Jaune's shoulder. "Oh no, we're claiming both of you."

"Yang, I'm not sure you're aware of this, but I am a guy." Jaune was pleased that he got a snort of laughter out of both Yang and Pyrrha.

"Hadn't noticed," the Blonde Brawler countered. "Because almost every other man on the planet would be trying to get a piece of this..." Yang motioned proudly to herself. "That," was punctuated by a motion to Pyrrha and, "All of those." Yang finished her torture of Jaune with a hand wave towards Blake, Ruby, and Weiss.

Pyrrha rescued Jaune by blushing furiously and crying out, "Yang!" The brawler cackled as she followed Pyrrha to JNPR's dorm in order to continue to exploit the Invincible Girl's sole weakness and to give props to Nora for giving new meaning to 'boop'.

Jaune returned to his good friend. "The entire school will probably be talking about this tomorrow."

"Let them, as long as we aren't violating curfew there is no wrong doing," Ren boasted. Jaune gave his friend a surprised look. He had never seen Ren's Zen Master mode falter.

 _'I guess if I were about to get laid, my ZFG level would be off the charts too,'_ Jaune admitted. He then wrinkled his brow. _'Just what the heck had happened at lunch between those two?'_

Pyrrha emerged from JNPR's dorm with a small bag. She quickly gave Nora a hug. Jaune took the opportunity to do Ren a favor. He wrapped his tie around the door handle. At the end of the hall, Russel Thrush of all people gave the guys of JNPR a congratulatory nod/fist shake. Jaune returned it with the 'sup' nod. Barely a second later, Waste Bucket sailed through the air. Jaune's stalwart companion was filled with a few of Jaune's crucial overnight items.

"Hey, where's my onesie?" Jaune asked indignantly.

Nora glared at her friend. "Fearless Leader, as an independent woman, I am doing you a favor by saying this: lose the damn onesie."

"But! But I'll have to sleep in nothing but my boxers then!"

Jaune wasn't sure what happened next, but Ruby and Pyrrha were dragging him into RWBY's dorm. "It's almost curfew, we better get out of the halls!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yes, Ruby is absolutely correct! We just don't have the time to get your pajamas! Such a shame," Pyrrha added quickly. Jaune barely had time to flash a thumbs-up to Ren before he was dragged into RWBY's dorm room...and probably into legend.


	6. Chapter 6

Yang Xiao Long was very impressed with her already considerable self-control. She had only made a **single** 'request' for Jaune to cook the night's meal while rocking the naked apron look. Honestly, Jaune was attractive in a gangly kind of way. That said, Yang was more interested in the hilarious reaction of Ruby, Pyrrha, and Blake. The sputtering and wide-eye expressions had been _perfect_. Weiss hadn't really reacted, though the blonde had noticed a bit of a twitch above her scarred eye.

 _'I am going to make her snap!'_ Yang declared.

"Hey ladies and our Jaune lone guy," Yang called out.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yang...stop."

The blonde snickered as she ignored the pained look adorning the heiress' face. Jaune looked up from his attempts at opening a particularly stubborn jar of Crème fraîche. The other girls turned to where Yang was sitting.

Ruby was sitting at the edge of her bed, happily swinging her legs to and fro. "What's up, Yang?"

"I have a joke! Wanna hear?"

Weiss was frantically and silently motioning 'no!' in every possible way. The others simply smiled and nodded.

Yang eagerly rubbed her hands together. "So, Strioj decides to take a vacation to Remnant. She, yes I'm saying Strioj is a girl, gets mixed up in a rough crowd and helps some really shady types with a bank robbery. Their plans goes south and everyone involved is arrested. The judges sentence the robbers to fifteen years in prison. Strioj is sentenced to ten years. Now, the vacationing world is shocked. 'I didn't take part in the robbery!' The lead judge doesn't care. "Yes, but you helped _planet!"_

"Damn it Yang!" Jaune groaned.

"How would the largest planet in the sky even fit on Remnant?" Ruby asked, looking to her other teammates for an explanation.

"Don't over-think the joke!" Yang snapped.

"It wasn't a joke. All you did was have an overly long set up for a wretched pun!" Weiss snapped.

Yang threw up her hands in triumph. She could practically see the steam coming out of Weiss' ears!

Desperate for a change of subject, Weiss wheeled around and faced Jaune. "Arc! What are you cooking?"

"Munster Tarte flambée," Jaune answered. "I'm not sure I should give Yang any after that pun, _dough."_

"Jaune," Pyrrha drew out the word. She was clearly putting a great deal of thought into her next couple of words. "I wasn't expecting you...to go...the extra... _lard?_ For puns."

Weiss paled in abject horror. Yang's puns were truly a virus! Even Pyrrha Nikos wasn't immune! Jaune Arc unleashing a pun wasn't surprising. Her closest male friend was clearly a complete dork. Pyrrha on the other hand! She couldn't believe it!

"Pyrrha! I'm shocked! _Cheese_ tell me you have more jokes like that," Ruby quipped as much to tease her mortified partner as egg Pyrrha and the others on.

"P-Please...please stop," Weiss whimpered.

"Weiss..." Blake piped in sympathetically. "Can't you _Schnee_ that we are all just having a bit of fun?"

The heiress had well and truly lost. If she was the last sane woman, did that make her the crazy one? Oh well, if she couldn't beat them... "I guess...I guess I'll just have to _Yang_ on for dear life and hope this madness is just a passing phase. I just hope this doesn't turn into a _Pyrrha-c_ victory."

"YES!" Yang cried out! She immediately started jumping around the room like the madwoman she was! "I am the greatest! I am the _Pun_ and only Yang Xiao Long!"

* * *

The hallway leading to Professor Ozpin's office was poorly lit in the best of times. Gris figured the Professor even had a reason for that. It was next to impossible to get the drop on Oz. The man seemingly had a plan for everything.

Pausing in front of the door, Gris sighed. He really wished that this wasn't business. He desperately wanted to see how his boy had settled in at Beacon. There were more important things at stake.

"You can come in, Gris," Ozpin said from the other side.

Gris the Huntsman strode into the room with a scowl. "One day, I swear I'm going to find out how the fuck you do that."

A red-eyed dusty crow flew in through the open window and landed in one of the empty seats. In a flash of Aura and Dust, Qrow shifted forms. Ozpin's Right Hand threw his feet up on the Headmaster's desk. "Don't bother, Gris. I've known him for years and I don't have a damn clue how he does half the shit he does."

"Maybe if you weren't always pissed off your rocker," Gris snapped.

Qrow laughed. "Don't start sounding like a Schnee."

"I'd take a running leap out of the Tower," Gris laughed back.

"While this reunion is touching," Ozpin interjected. "I believe we have urgent business that must be addressed."

Qrow took the lead. "I have three leads. All point to Mistral."

"Go on," Ozpin pressed.

"Marcus Black has vanished. He's been gone two and a half years. The slippery bastard has vanished for a long time before, but he's always surfaced after at least a year. The only people who even know he's gone are the shadiest of the shady," Qrow explained.

"He must be good. I have never heard of him until now. Assassins should never be famous," Gris mentioned.

"Exactly," Qrow grumbled as he fished out his flask. "Fame gets you killed in that line of work."

"Gris, what about your investigations?" Ozpin redirected the conversation.

The Huntsman leaned forward. "I'm afraid one of Vale's best book stores will have to close soon."

"I would have never imagined," Ozpin said offhandedly. "How did you get in touch with Tuskon?"

"My production crew provides useful cover. We have to scout locations after all," Gris admitted. "We located Tuskon in the usual way." He thumbed in Qrow's general direction. "We actually got word from Qrow on this lead."

"The White Fang defectors. Most of those got a personal visit from the Asshole In Chief," Qrow pointed out.

"But our friend Tuskon managed to slip away," Gris pointed out. "He is a huge piece of the puzzle. Think about it, he was the _Quartermaster_ for the entire merry band of fuckwits."

"No shit," Qrow groused. "No way Taurus and whoever is bankrolling the Fang are going to let him go."

Ozpin leaned forward. "We must be subtle in securing Tuskon. I will oversee the planning as he is currently in Vale. Qrow, I know you are leaving tonight. When will you be departing for Vacuo, Gris?"

"We will film two more episodes over the course of three day. I'll reach out to my friends higher up in the networks. If the chips fall right, we can direct hearts and minds in a positive direction," the third member of the meeting supplied. He paused for a moment. "I always wonder about this time of year..."

"At least the weather is stable for a moment," Ozpin said comfortingly. "Good evening gentlemen."

Qrow actually got out of his seat and followed the cook to the elevator. "What?"

"I half expected you to take the window."

"Don't want my nieces to know about my Semblance. Can't keep spying on them if they see me show up as a crow." Qrow took a swig out of his flask. He offered Fourneau, but the other Huntsman shook his head.

"Not if you are still drink that fucking Vacuoan swill," Gris challenged.

Qrow snorted. "Like that local shit you push is any better."

The two friends laughed. "At least we aren't like Tai and drinking that Oum Forsaken Menagerie Rum."

"He only started because he found out that was all Summer would drink," Qrow guffawed and slapped his buddy on the back.

"I fucking miss those days, Qrow," Fourneau admitted. "Back before we realized just how deep the shit went. I miss GRSS and STRQ. A day doesn't go by that I don't."

The Scythe Master ran a hand through his hair. "If we do our jobs, our brats won't ever know. And I do too. "

There was a quiet that settled over the two veterans. Qrow suddenly got a smirk that always promised trouble. The last time Gris Fourneau had seen that smirk Qrow, Gris, Taiyang, and Stáka had all woke up nursing a fierce hangover in one of Vale's many fine law enforcement centers.

In other words, it promised a hell of a good time.

"Want to go embarrass the hell out of our brats?"

"Qrow, sometimes I forget you are a bloody idiot!" Gris roared in laughter. "Count me in."

* * *

The acrid smell of expensive tobacco wafted through the warehouse. Grumbled curses seemingly swam amongst the smoke of the expensive cigars. A woman, power hidden behind her tiny facade, moved through the empty storehouse under an ornate parasol. She swayed to silent music as she approached her finely attired compatriot. Her redheaded partner was clearly frustrated, and even her entrance had done little to assuage his dark mood.

"Neo," Roman Torchwich greeted tersely. "Please give me good news. I've got our _partners_ breathing down my neck."

The short woman shook her head. A shift in eye color, a wrinkle of her brow, and a twirl of her multi-hued hair carried the full breadth of a conversation.

No one could read her like Roman. "I knew it. I. Freaking. Knew. **It.** Our little defector has someone covering his tracks. Probably a Huntsman or Huntress knowing our recent luck. Neo, please be a dear and tell me that _we've_ made progress somewhere."

The girl grinned darkly before somersaulting onto the desk. Neo flourished her parasol and rested it on her shoulder. Her free hand cupped Roman's chin.

"The next shipment of Dust is en route," Roman breathed a sigh of relief. His physically miniscule partner used her parasol to flip Roman's bowler hat off his head. "Ah...so there _will_ be something else worth having on that airship."

Neo's hand traced Roman's jawline before she mimed the shape of a firing gun.

"Now, what kind of gun could get _you_ excited?"

The petite criminal acted out taking off, and crushing, a mask while taking a very deep breath.

"I'm going to need to figure out a way to reward you for that lead," Roman took a deep drag of his cigar. The second he finished, Neo snatched it and mimicked the action. The mastermind arced a styled eyebrow questioningly. Seconds later, Neo had exploded off the table and twirled around Roman's neck like a gymnast before coming to a stop piggyback. "Oh ho ho. I really do love the way you think."

* * *

The International Brotherhood's symbol of "Someone's getting Laid" was proudly displayed on the doorknob to Team JNPR's room. Qrow looked at it with a mix of amusement and quasi-paternal concern.

Gris just chuckled. "I'm not going to have to prevent you from murdering my son. It's two of his teammates. Trust me. Jaune and I had a talk earlier."

"If he's taking advantage of either of Tai's daughters, _my nieces,_ I don't care who he is, I'm going to castrate the fuck out of him," Qrow growled.

"That won't be necessary," Gris warned with a roll of his eyes. The two adults paused in front of Team RWBY's room.

"Come on Pyrrha! You've gotten Jaune _twice!_ I want a go at him!" Ruby cried.

"It's best two out of three, Ruby," Pyrrha replied calmly, yet out of breath.

"Oh hell no!" Qrow snarled and threw open the door. The sight that greeted a very angry Qrow and a concerned Gris only _marginally_ calmed down the Scythe Wielder. A frazzled Jaune Arc was being used as the rope in a tug of war between a pajama-clad Ruby and an equally night-ready Pyrrha.

"It's not what it looks like!" Jaune shouted, especially as the two girls tightened their grip on his arms. Now was not the time to think about how kind both girls' development had been. Especially since a guy who looked like Ruby's dad was drawing his weapon.

"The heck!" Qrow growled as his weapon suddenly became magnetically attached to the doorframe. Gris cursed under his breath as his prosthetic leg suddenly shifted.

Ruby and Yang gasped happily. The Pint-sized Reaper called out "Uncle Qroooooow!" and used her Semblance to beat Yang to their uncle. She latched onto his arm and greeted her mentor with a chipper "Hi!"

Yang...proceeded to tackle her Uncle. "Qrow!"

"While Qrow's distracted, care to explain?" Gris asked his son.

"Uh, not sure about the weapons and your leg..." Jaune started.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha hastily apologized and deactivated her Semblance.

"It's alright, Pyrrha," Jaune said calmly. "We were playing Two Step Turnover. Pyrrha won the Rock-Paper-Scissors game. Since, the game is well...mine...I also got first turn as well."

"And?" Qrow demanded.

"Uh, Ruby really wanted her turn?" Jaune offered nervously.

"And," Qrow repeated.

"Jaune is the nicest guy ever, Uncle Qrow," Ruby whined. "He's a gentlemen!"

Yang had detached herself from her uncle. "Jaune is way too nice."

"I didn't raise my son to be like _us,"_ Gris pointed out.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Qrow shot back.

The cook shook his head. "It means you can trust my son. These ladies do."

"If I acted like a jackass, they'd also kick the ever living crap out of me. One at a time," Jaune pointed out helpfully. "because they are that good."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Arc," Weiss chimed in from her seat.

The Scythe Master shrugged his shoulder. "Fine. Yang, if he messes with your sister kick his ass."

"Hey, aren't you going to tell Ruby to protect _my_ virtue?" Yang groused.

"Ha! Like she'd need to. You'd pull that stunt from Junior's and not stop," Yang's uncle.

Yang cocked her head to the side and smirked. "Yup!"

"Do I want to know?" Jaune asked, only partially ignoring that Pyrrha hadn't let go the entire conversation.

"She nearly crushed his balls," Qrow pointed out. "I could use a drink. Want to try to break our record at K's?"

Gris shrugged. "It'll be hard without Tai." He turned to his son. "Jaune, treat your friends with respect or I will get in line."

"Yes sir!" Jaune actually saluted. The two older Huntsman departed.

Ruby returned to the tug of war match with a mischievous grin. "Congratulations Jaune! My uncle likes you! That means he won't be calling Daddy to work out where to bury your body!"

* * *

A duet of quasi-sinister snickering and aristocratic laughing was an unwelcome start to Jaune Arc's final day of a long weekend. His mind slowly began to theorize _why_ he was being laughed at. Obviously, Yang was involved. That was a near scientific certainty because...Yang. As Jaune's mind was lifted from his 'just woke up' fog, there were four details that came into sharp focus. First, he had slept on the floor in-between the two structurally-questionable bunkbeds. Second, one Ruby Rose had cut off all circulation in his left arm via an adorable death grip. Third, Pyrrha Nikos had evidently decided that Jaune's statement of being 'his right hand' needed to be _literal_. The Invincible Girl had mirrored the Reaper's death grip. Pyrrha was splayed out at a perpendicular angle from Jaune instead of Ruby's parallel. That allowed the fourth and final detail to be possible. Blake Belladonna had adopted his right thigh as a pillow.

If Qrow returned, Jaune was pretty sure he could face his death with a smile. Nothing had happened, but it was still quite the ego-boost to wake up with three gorgeous women clinging to his body like a life raft.

"Please tell me that you have at least a dozen pictures, Yang," Weiss said in a voice that sounded downright predatory.

"Only if you do the same, Schnee." The 'click' of a Scroll's camera app served as a pretty emphatic punctuation.

Jaune stared at his two fully awake friends. He groaned as he realized that, yes, they probably did havedozens of pictures of this situation. Joy. "So, are those pictures blackmail on me or the girls?"

"Yes," Weiss and Yang said at the same time.

"How, how did we even get into this situation?" Jaune asked. "Last thing I remember was Ruby challenging us to that trivia game she downloaded after dessert..."

"Which was _amazing_ by the way," Yang complimented. "Gotta give the parfaits the edge over the blueberry cake thingies."

Weiss snorted. "Maybe on presentation you palate-less barbarian!"

"Ladies, focus," Jaune prodded gently. The three girls clinging to the SS. Fourneau didn't stir too much. Pyrrha gripped his arm even tighter. Ruby _may_ have tightened her vice-like grip, but circulation in Jaune's left arm had long ago faded into an age of myth. Blake may have uttered something about sashimi, but no one was sure.

"Fine," both girls snapped at Jaune. Jaune gulped. He didn't want Blake, Ruby, or Pyrrha to wake up and have the sight of Weiss and Yang collecting Blackmail to greet them.

"You all played nearly a dozen rounds," Yang revealed. "Ruby got eliminated when the system chose the Ninja of Love category at random. Is there something you want to tell us about that series? Like say...if you secretly write it?"

Jaune gave Yang a withering 'Now is not the time!' glare. Unperturbed, the pugilist continued. "Pyrrha and Blake eventually tied in that category. There were a few more categories, but a combination of competitiveness and sleepiness made the game _hilarious."_

"Does Pyrrha really apologize for _everything?"_ Weiss asked with a grin.

The 'partitioned' chef gave his awake and amused friends a dry look. "Are you recording this conversation?"

The two very pretty girls graced Jaune with a sweet and gentle smile. "Of course not," Yang assured Jaune.

"Not answering any questions while you are recording this conversation. In fact, I _might_ never make blueberry-lemon tarts or Strawberry Sunrises... **ever...** if this recording sees the light of day..."

" **YOU MONSTER!"** Weiss and Yang shouted in despair.

The cry of anguish caused the grip on Jaune's arm to tighten and the pressure on his thigh to increase. Needless to say, this made a certain situation...precarious.

"Yang...stop yelling," Ruby mumbled into Jaune's arm.

"Why is my pillow moving?" Blake asked in sleep-confusion haze.

Pyrrha blinked a few times as she looked around. She saw Weiss and Yang smirking viciously and immediately buried her head into Jaune's arm. The Hoplite was desperately hoping that if she ignored her two friends they would get bored with this situation and simply go away.

"You've mortified us all enough, I think," Jaune grumbled. "If we all delay acknowledging this...uh... _predicament_ for a little longer, I can make French Toast."

"Bribing us with your cooking always works," Weiss relented.

Thus began the somewhat awkward and reluctant "Great Untangling". A part of Jaune's mind readily admitted that waking up like that again would actually be quite welcome. There were a few awkward, shy, and confused apologies between Jaune and the girls. Fortunately, Jaune's threat of holding his cooking hostage and PBR solidarity staved off further threats of teasing and blackmail from Yang and Weiss.

"I need to run next door and grab something. Fortunately, I won't be stepping on Ren's toes when it comes to ingredients," Jaune announced with a yawn. The girls were already starting their morning ritual combat to see who got first crack at the bathroom and only partially responded. Jaune crossed the hall and knocked cautiously on his dorm's door.

A very disheveled Ren greeted his friend. "Good morning? I think it's morning."

"I take it sleep wasn't a thing?" Jaune asked with a smirk. Ren shook his head. "Didn't think so."

"Same, I take it?" Ren asked.

Jaune ran a hand through his locks. "Maybe not _quite_ , but yeah...Pyrrha, Ruby, and Blake may have gotten...possessive?"

Ren's raised eyebrow usually foretold a dryly humorous retort of phenomenal subtlety. The reply was intercepted by a single clap. The only two males in the RWBYJNPR 'secretly one' Team turned down the hall. The clapping was picking up pace, but most certainly remained a slow clap.

Team CRDL, along with Atian and a few other guys were at the end of the hall. They were all looking oddly respectful, if a bit jealous.

"Ren...everyone knows that you and Nora got together-together, but..."

"I believe they are under the impression you also are together-together with RWBY and Pyrrha," Ren confirmed.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "For their safety, I'm going to dissuade those guys later. If Ruby and Yang's Uncle Qrow found out they were spreading any type of rumors..."

"That bad?" Ren asked as he led Jaune into the dorm.

"Castration bad. Launch Nora_LegBreak dot exe bad," Jaune admitted.

"I get to break legs! When?" Nora called out from the bedroom. Jaune instinctively cast a glance in the direction of Nora's voice. She had a sheet wrapped around her, but that was probably the closest she had come to being clothed in hours.

"Depends on if I can squash rumors or not," Jaune admitted as he started collecting some of the ingredients he needed. "If I can't...two words...Weapons Free."

"You are the _second_ best man alive," Nora cooed.

"Thanks Nora!" Jaune called out.

Nora snorted. "Now that I got a look at you, I can tell what rumors are starting. I'll help dash those. Now, get back across that hall! I need to teach Renny to use Magnhild again!"

Jaune laughed as he opened the dorm's door with his foot. "That's a good one, Nora. Have fun you two!"

* * *

Professor Ozpin interlocked his fingers and smiled knowingly at Glynda. The combat instructor sighed. "I am not sure I understand why you needed this particular Scroll Contact ID, sir."

"Glynda, I am sure you have heard the rather entertaining story involving the good captain and Teams RWBY and most of JNPR?"

Professor Goodwitch scoffed. "I heard a few rumors, but the entire situation is far too ridiculous to grant it any consideration!" Ozpin merely peered over his glasses. The amused glint in his eyes caused Glynda's eyes to narrow. "It actually happened."

"Indeed," Ozpin hummed and linked his Scroll to his desk. A few taps later and a connection was established.

"This is First Mate Laal Cristatus of the _Silver Cirri_. Headmaster Ozpin, it is an honor to hear from you again," the Faunus officer greeted Ozpin politely.

"It is a pleasure as always. I am afraid that I must be brief today. Is your captain available?" The Headmaster was the very picture of courtesy.

Laal, the Faunus Jaune knew as 'Tusks', nodded. "Aye, Captain Colcannon just finished with dealing with those Atlas _tw..._ Atlas officials. I'll patch you to him."

The communications gap lasted only a moment.

"Bloody Ozpin! How's the craic?" Kale greeted warmly.

The graying headmaster smiled. "The craic's ninety."

"Good ta see ya are the only 'Eadmaster that isn't a complete caffer! What can I do ya for?" Colcannon slapped his knee at the proper response to his question.

"I have word that you offered one of my students a nickser," the Professor asked as he took a sip of coffee.

Colcannon sighed. "Aye. Ya ain't cheesed that I tried to grab Jaune?"

"Kale, my friend, if I had an issue with that, you would have heard about it long before now," Ozpin assured the captain.

"Good ta hear ya ain't vexed. If this ain't about Jaune, then whatcha need with a nickser?"

Ozpin grinned. "I may have a need for an...associate...to receive a _full_ nickser."

"That would take a wheen bitta favors," Kale grumbled.

The Professor laughed. "Kale, have I ever _not_ delivered?"

"I take it would take more than a joyce to get more outta ya?" Colcannon asked.

"Right now, yes. This is...delicate...situation that requires subtlety and cleverness. Fortunately, I have just the teams to accomplish such a mission..."

Captain Colcannon nodded. "If ya think they are master, then I trust ya. The _Cirri_ will be ready for ya teams when ya need this ol' lash."

"You have my thanks," Ozpin said with a bow of the head. The connection was severed with a smile. The Headmaster's amusement didn't fade as the flat look he received from Glynda hadn't subsided the entire conversation.

"Sir, are you sure we should entrust such a sensitive matter to _those_ teams?"

Ozpin took another sip. "Glynda, my dear, I would trust no other teams to act with the tact and professionalism required..."

* * *

"Yang," Jaune growled as he tested the strength of the handcuffs. He should have known Yang was up to something when she _happily_ volunteered to help clean up after breakfast. Alarms should have been blaring after Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss had left for the library. Unfortunately, he ignored his instincts and could only ask, "Why the hell did you cuff me to a chair?"

"Because, _Fugitive_ , we need to have a very important conversation. I had to make sure that you didn't take the default male response and run away." Yang Xiao Long crossed her arms, purposefully accenting her breasts to test Jaune's reaction. Jaune pulled a guy and cast a quick glance, but looked guilty about it.

"Or, you could have _asked_ instead of chaining me to a chair! Come on, Yang! When have I ever done anything to deserve this? Other than threaten your precious Strawberry Sunrises," the Son of Gris Fourneau snapped.

"You'll be punished properly for threatening my favorite drink! I bet you'd even serve them without those fancy little umbrellas, you fiend!"

Jaune groaned. "You really are Ruby's sister. So, you caught me! I am a fiend out to destroy the very fabric of decent society with umbrella-less Strawberry Sunrises and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Your dad must be proud that his daughters have saved Vale from its greatest threat!"

"This is what I'm talking about!" Yang threw her hands up.

"Sarcasm? _Really?_ " Jaune groaned. "Not sure if you're aware, but our little group? We're _all sarcastic._ Even Ruby and Pyrrha make these adorable attempts at sarcasm."

"No, not the sarcasm. I can handle sarcasm. I remember to wear my big girl panties. I'm talking about **that!** The thing you just did, being all complimentary and flirty with multiple girls."

"What?" Jaune squawked. "Flirty? I'm not flirting with anyone! I'm trying not to intentionally flirting with _anyone!"_

Yang approached and leaned forward so that the only thing Jaune could see was her lilac eyes. Jaune squirmed at his fellow blond's hand placement. Her right hand was clearly in the 'stranger danger' region. "So, you're not a dense moron. You actually _get_ that my good friend Pyrrha, my partner Blake, and my baby sister, for whom I will happily **end** an asshole for hurting her, are all into you."

"No crap! I'm trying to be an _anti-asshole_ and not lead them on! Pyrrha, Ruby, and Blake are my friends too! RWBY and JNPR are probably the only real friends I've ever had, if you don't count family, in my entire life. I don't want to fuck that up. More importantly, I really don't want to hurt anyone! Hell, I'm not even sure I'm looking to date right now. I'm also not going to sit here and bullshit the overprotective big sister who has chained me to a chair and is fueled by anger. I _am_ interested in all three of them. Shit, I'm a bit in to you too, but we both know neither of us are looking for a relationship right now. That doesn't mean I'm going to toy with them. I'd _kick my own_ ass if I realized I was doing that."

Yang scoffed and blushed a bit. "No wonder you're a team leader. When you're right, you're right."

Jaune squirmed and looked nervously around as Yang sat in his lap and faced him. "I can tell you are being completely honest here. So, I'm not going to break your nose for toying with my baby sister. But, if you ever stop being the noble guy you're trying to be...if you hurt my friends or Oum-above Ruby, I will make sure you need to ask your dad where he got his fake leg. Capiche?"

"Understood." Jaune gulped. "Can we get out of this before that door opens and we have to explain why you are in my lap while I'm handcuffed to the chair to our friends?"

"Maybe. You have to admit, it would be an arresting image," Yang teasingly whispered in Jaune's ear.

"Damn it, Yang! Out of my lap!" Jaune snapped. He bounced in the chair twice which forced Yang onto the floor with a yelp.

"You know what. I'm just going to leave you there! Let Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha fight over who gets first crack at you," Miss Xiao Long declared.

The Huntsman sighed. "I'm dying your hair in your sleep."

" **DO YOU WANT TO GO TO WAR, ARC?"** Yang exploded. Literally. Flames erupted all around her. **"BECAUSE I THINK YOU JUST SAID 'YANG, I WANT YOU TO BEAT ME LIKE A RENTED MULE!' WELL?"**

"Um...oops?"

It was in that moment, Jaune knew...he fucked up.


	7. Chapter 7

Awkward silences were the worst. Teams RWBY and Team JNPR were, however, content to _never speak_ of the manner in which they had found Jaune. There were some mysteries that should never be solved. One example is how Jaune wound up in Team RWBY's dirty clothes hamper on a conference call with Zwei, Ruby and Yang's dog back in Patch, and three other random canines.

"So~" Ruby drew out the word to fill the silence. "I hear Professor Peach is sending us into the Forever Fall soon."

Ren nodded. "I have heard similar rumors."

"Any idea what Professor Peach will assign us to collect or do in the forest?" Blake asked while sketching _something_ in her journal.

Nora jumped to her feet. "Sloths!"

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren exchanged a quick look. Fortunately, it went unnoticed by She of the Boop. Team RWBY noticed. A question bubbled forth from their throats. The girls were all very curious. JNPR had picked up a bit of Ren's incredible ability to have complete conversations with a single word, gesture, or roll of the eye. So far, Blake was the only member of RWBY who was fluent in Silentese. Weiss was quickly picking up the language. Taiyang's daughters were completely hopeless at Silentese. It was the concept of subtlety that was holding them back, really.

The question that had worked its way to the tip of Team RWBY's tongues died when a gentle, accented voice asking for someone to stop. Platoon RWBYJNPR' turned their heads towards the pleading. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped below freezing. Team CRDL were harassing a Rabbit Faunus.

"Despicable," Pyrrha hissed. Blake nodded tightly. Everyone pretended not to notice that their quiet friend had snapped her pencil in half.

Jaune took a deep breath and rose from his seat. He walked over to the stage in the cafeteria; attracting attention the entire way. The Son of Gris Fourneau _had_ inherited his father's temper. Jaune's anger simply manifested in different ways.

He was vindictive.

Like his mother.

And vicious...

...also like his mother.

Jaune Arc-Fourneau, allowing himself to fully embrace both halves of his heritage, tapped on the microphone. The sound drew the attention of the assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses to the stage. "Ladies, Gentlemen...and whatever Team CRDL is...Combat Class is next."

"No shit," someone angrily called from the back of the room. Probably Russel Thrush.

"I have a challenge for _everyone in the room_ ," Jaune announced in his most Gris-like voice. "Whoever beats the racist out of a member of Team CRDL the fastest will receive a reservation for two at Gris Fourneau's new restaurant, Chateau du Fourneau."

In order to prove his point, Jaune pulled out his Scroll and entered an ID. A gruff voice answered with a "I hope you have a good reason to be calling Jay. You know how fucking nuts the week before O-Day is."

"How many have I helped out with over the years, Striebro?" Jaune countered with a smile.

Striebro snorted. "Thanks to that mother of yours, nowhere near enough. Are you sure can't ditch Beacon to help me out?"

"Sorry. Speaking of Beacon though, you're on speaker. I need you to confirm I can get some seats at opening night," Gris' son pointed out.

The cook's head-shake was audible. "Gris told me to hold a table for you and your little gang."

"Speaker phone," Jaune reminded sheepishly. Striebro snorted. The Fourneau child sighed before continuing. "Can I get a table for two? I'm making a bit of a contest..."

"What the hell kind of contest would be worth a table for two?"

"A contest to see who can beat the racist out of a team that's bullying a Faunus classmate of mine the fastest," Jaune admitted.

Striebro Pazúr was silent. The Sous-chef started wrapping his knuckles on the counter he was standing at. The sound was visible over the phone...as was his growl. The Fennec Fox Faunus cleared his threat. "I'll make it a fireplace table."

"Thanks Uncle Striebro," Jaune said happily.

"I swear to Oum, you better show up if you aren't on a mission to the opening," Striebro snapped.

The Huntsman laughed. "I promise we'll be there. Let me guess, Dad's demanding it."

"Yeah," the Faunus cook said. "I have to go...some shit head thinks he can use the wrong fucking kind of oil in a dish."

Before the Scroll call ended, Striebro started a tirade about canola oil. Jaune went back to his Team and RWBY, but was stopped by Cardin.

"You think you're hot shit. If I'm fighting you, I'm breaking your fucking jaw," Cardin declared.

"I'm launching Nora Leg Break dot exe!" Nora crowed happily.

Professor Goodwitch stormed into the room. Glynda stared down _everyone_. "There will be no violence outside of sparring classes. In sparring class, I will not permit excessive violence. Anyone," Glynda pointedly glared at Nora, Jaune, Cardin, and Yang. "that makes a deliberate attempted to land a crippling blow on an opponent will face the full weight of Beacon's discipline."

CRDL stormed off from the area near RWBYJNPR. Glynda cast a harsh look at Jaune before striding purposefully away. Jaune sat down. "So, yeah...uh...we all get a table."

"Your dad's restaurant..." Ruby was a bit nervous. "It's really fancy right?"

The question was answered with a simple nod. Ruby visibly deflated. "That means I have to wear those evil lady stilts doesn't it?"

"And what, pray-tell my dear partner, is so evil about heels?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Um...we're-late-for-combat-class-better-go!" Ruby's voice actually lingered longer than she did. The leader of Team RWBY had fled from her fashion conscious partner in a flurry of nervous rose petals.

Nora rested her head on Ren's shoulder and cackled. "Renny! We're the normal ones right now!"

"First time for everything..." the stoic, yet smitten, quasi-ninja agreed.

* * *

Jaune was actually disappointed that he wasn't fighting a member of CRDL. He had honestly expected to fight Sky, Dove, or even the man himself. Goodwitch had made it clear in a private one-on-one conversation that Jaune would not have an opportunity to antagonize Team CRDL again. In the interest of keeping a tentative peace, Jaune was currently matching up against Chehrehn of Team ACDT.

Chehrehn was a fairly aggressive fighter that used two hand-axes that could combine to form a small crossbow. 'Che' as Dalm and Atian called their friend was incredibly accurate with the crossbow. He was also infuriatingly smart. The woodsman wasn't aiming at Jaune's center mass where his bolts could be easily blocked by the shield of Crocea Mors. Instead, he was aiming at Jaune's legs.

Fortunately, Jaune's partner was _Pyrrha freaking Nikos_ and one of the greatest shield technicians in generations. Jaune also was close friends with _Ruby freaking Rose_ who's terrifyingly enormous Scythe was also 'a high impact sniper rifle'. Two of Jaune's favorite females were cruel when they allied with each other to torture, _train_ , Jaune in dealing with clever ranged opponents.

" _Serpentine, Jaune! Serpentine!"_ The Devil-Cheerleader Ruby and the Devil-Cheerleader Pyrrha mental projections shouted. He almost tripped when he realized what his mind had the projections wearing. Not that he didn't approve! It was just that now wasn't the time to _fully_ approve of his wonderful outburst of creativity.

He was currently being shot at, after all.

Jaune hissed as Che picked up his patterns. The bolt nicked him on the thigh. While it hurt like hell, the blow was superficial. Jaune wouldn't be slowed.

ACDT's team member realized that and succinctly voiced his assessment of the tactical situation. "Ah, shit..."

The appraisal of the battle was quickly, and happily, proven correct by Jaune. The leader of JNPR, and master/victim of the complicated romantic situation, threw his entire weight and momentum into a shield bash. The thud that heralded the impact was Jaune's seventh favorite sound of the week. There was a five-way tie for the pleased, almost sexual, sounds from the single women in Jaune's life made when he made that Chocolate Dessert Pizza on Tuesday. Sixth place belonged to the sheer rage CRDL had expressed when Jaune had turned pretty much all of Beacon's first year students against them.

"The match is over!" Professor Goodwitch announced.

Jaune shook hands with Che and returned to his friends. "I can't believe no one has fought CRDL," Jaune observed after assuring everyone that his Aura had already begun healing the knick on his thigh.

"Professor Goodwitch is probably trying to keep the situation under control. Jaune, your intentions were noble, and we can all agree CRDL are uncouth ruffians and buffoons, but you may have gone too far," Weiss explained.

Jaune blinked. The Schnee Heiress was correct and the Arc wanted to agree with her. Instead, Jaune's reply was, "You know Weiss, you might be the only person who can use the words uncouth barbarians together and make it sound completely natural."

"What are you saying, _Arc?"_ Weiss asked while staring down Jaune with narrowed, ice-blue eyes.

The gulp was perfectly reasonable in the situation. _All_ the girls were staring at him; clearly intent on hearing his explanation. Team RWBY, Pyrrha, and Nora had all become very close friends and were protective of each other.

"I'm saying," Jaune was becoming used to being the center of attention with his female friends, but their pack mentality was unnerving at times. "You are incredibly refined and that kind of vocab just fits."

"Glad to see _someone_ appreciates a diverse and educated vocabulary!" Weiss huffed and cast a pointed glance to her partner.

"Hey! My vocabulary is _amazing!"_ Ruby countered.

"When it comes to weapons and engineering!" Weiss countered the counter.

"And what's wrong with _that?!"_ The Reaper growled at the heiress.

Images of catfights swirled in Jaune's head and he quickly turned to the board as Goodwitch announced the final matches to get his imagination under control. The Arc noticed that Cardin was matched against Sky. That match would be short. He also figured that the last match would also be intra-CRDL. Glynda Goodwitch had made her point.

"So, odds are I get called in to meet with Professor Ozpin?" Jaune asked JNPR and RWBY. Blake and Ren cast a look that combined concern and gratitude Jaune's direction. Concern over the possible consequences of the "Fuck CRDL" gaffe. Gratitude at distracting Ruby and Weiss from yelling very long, technical, and obscure terms with their definitions at each other.

"I'd say the odds are not in your favor, Jaune," Ren admitted sourly.

Jaune sighed. "I was a bit overboard. CRDL shouldn't get a pass, but you know, I shouldn't try to sic a mob on them."

"I am glad you have seen reason," Weiss announced. "It shows maturity _befitting a team leader."_

"Hey!" Ruby whined. "I'm plenty mature. You...you...you are just messing with me for a laugh aren't you?"

"Careful," Weiss teased. "She's learning."

Jaune sighed dramatically. "You've doomed us all, Schnee. Whatever will we do now?"

"You," the Heiress smirked. "Will keep cooking."

"Agreed," Pyrrha added.

Jaune turned to Ren. "I'm still being objectified, aren't I?"

Ren shrugged his shoulders. Yang, however, threw her arm around Jaune. "Don't you forget it. The real reason you are still here is because of the strong chance that Pyrrha will help Team RWBY force you to cook us food wearing nothing but an apron."

"This is my life now, I guess. Might as well accept it," Jaune announced in resignation.

"Acceptance is an important step to take," Blake chimed in.

The further torment and objectification of Jaune Arc was interrupted by the arrival of a Professor Goodwitch donning a sterner than usual look upon her face. "Mr. Arc, Professor Ozpin requests your presence."

"Called it," Jaune groused.

* * *

Professor Ozpin let Jaune sit in silence for a nearly three minutes. Every moment was calculated to drive home the fact that Ozpin was well and fully in charge. Jaune's rather impressive, for a teen, emotional patience was wearing thin. Ozpin chose that moment to open the proceedings.

"Mr. Arc," the Headmaster said in his signature tone. "I have high hopes for you as both a student at my school and as a future Huntsman. Given my expectations, belief in your potential, and knowledge of the character your father instilled in you...today's actions were unexpected and unacceptable."

Jaune remained silent, but nodded once to acknowledge that he was listening. He also knew Professor Ozpin likely had far more to say.

"You are aware that the Creatures of Grimm are drawn to strong negative emotions. Tell me Jaune, what emotions do you believe your... _bounty..._ against Team CRDL would generate in CRDL themselves?"

"Anger, resentment, maybe...fear...and isolation," Jaune rattled off after a few moments of legitimate thought. "Definitely those."

"All of CRDL are passionate individuals in their own ways. Their emotions burn strongly. Now, I have it on good authority that Teams JNPR and RWBY are aware of the excursion into the Forever Fall coming up for Professor Peach's class. I want you to recite everything you know about the Forest."

The Arc looked down as he thought. "Forever Fall is along the frontier, away from Beacon's Mesa. It is an Old Growth Forest nestled in the Alqonin Pass. The forest is untamed, but relatively few Grimm find their way into the Forest. I haven't heard any explanation for why the Pass isn't infested."

"But there are confirmed Grimm Infestations," Ozpin prodded.

"Yes, Professor," Jaune agreed. "I...I pretty much turned CRDL into Grimm bait."

"Not just that," Ozpin continued. "How will your classmates react to the offer you made and the conditions of the Forest?"

The Arc's shoulders slumped. "Ah shit. I declared open season on CRDL in an environment that could get them freaking killed."

"Exactly." There was thunder in Ozpin's voice that caused Jaune to start violently. The team leader nearly jumped out of the chair. "Beacon is a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses. There is no place for petty personal grudges or social squabbles between cliques."

"Yes sir," was the only sensible answer Jaune could offer in this situation.

Ozpin nodded as he accepted both the tone and wording of Jaune's reply. "We shall proceed in a very specific manner. First, you will publicly withdraw this ill-advised and dangerous 'bounty'. If you wish to continue to stand for equality for the Faunus and against racism, there are far more productive ways to go about it. Second..."

Jaune couldn't help by gulp at the ultimatums being delivered. The Professor simply continued. "You will, in no uncertain terms, apologize to Team CRDL for putting them in danger and exposing them to an unacceptably hostile environment. Finally, you will prepare a statement reaffirming Beacon's unity of purpose to train defenders of life from the Grimm and rejecting all forms of disunity at this institution."

"Of course, Professor."

"I need the restitution for your infractions completed quickly. This was a highly disappointing episode, but you are still a Team Leader with great potential and I _request_ that you remain in good standing." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. Jaune couldn't help but notice the odd emphasis on the word request. The entire sentence maintained the air of authority that made it clear Ozpin was still driving his point home. However, the inflection and pacing of the word request was unsubtly subtle. The Headmaster had something planned.

"Yes sir, Professor."

Ozpin smiled. "Dismissed, Mr. Arc."

Jaune walked towards the dorms pondering how to approach Headmaster Ozpin's ultimatums. A smile lit up Jaune's face as he realized he had a perfect loophole to exploit. Ozpin had ordered Jaune to prepare a public statement, but he never said _explicitly_ that Jaune had to prepare it completely on his own. It just so happened that Jaune was friends with two young women who had grown up in the public eye and were undoubtedly as talented in 'spin' as they were at everything else.

In other words, for the first and most likely one of the few occasions, Jaune was going to exploit Pyrrha and Weiss for their fame. They were going to pick apart and proofread his statement until it met their high standards. If the Headmaster wanted a statement, by Oum, Jaune was going to give him the best statement possible.

The walk back to the dorms was uneventful and thankfully CRDL free.

A beep alerted Jaune to a message. He opened up his Scroll and smiled at the message from Ren, "RWBY's dorm. Girls decided."

Jaune knew that any _attempt_ to argue with RWBY, Nora, or Pyrrha would end in abject failure. The ladies got what the ladies wanted. It was that simple.

He also knew that knocking was crucial, even if Ren was in there. Jaune had grown up with sisters; lots of sisters in fact. There were unwritten, practically esoteric, and absolutely mandatory rules one had to follow. Knock, no answer, wait. Knock again...listen for Ruby to call out, "I'm coming!" Wait.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby said happily.

Jaune smiled back. "Hey, Rubes."

The young team leader lead her compatriot into the dorm. Surprisingly, yet honestly not that surprising, there was an open seat. The reason for the open seat was fairly obvious and expected; Nora had claimed Ren's lap as her seat.

"Jaune," Pyrrha interjected. "How was the meeting with Professor Ozpin?"

"It was... _emphatic."_ Jaune flopped into a chair. "I'm going to have to exploit Pyrrha's and Weiss' fame though."

"What do you mean by that, Arc?" Weiss teased.

Jaune smiled at the heiress and his partner. "Professor Ozpin demanded that I write a statement of unity to be read to Beacon and a personal letter of apology. Pyrrha and Weiss, you two have handled the public more than any of us combined," Jaune explained. He turned quickly to Yang. "No, Yang. Beating the hell out of Junior's Club doesn't count. Writing a letter of 'I'm sorry for calling out your bullshit in public. You all still suck out loud,' isn't what Ozpin wants."

"But it's true!" Yang protested.

"Regardless of whether or not it is true," Weiss lectured. "We _can't_ just say it. Luckily, my uncle's favorite saying comes to mind?"

"What's that Weiss?" Nora asked from her perch in Ren's lap.

"Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to Hell so beautifully that they happily pack for the trip!" Weiss declared with a proud cross of the arms.

"Weiss! You cussed!" Ruby gasped. "I didn't think you could do that!"

"I know right! I didn't think it was possible either, sis!" Yang joined the moment.

Pyrrha stepped in. "Was there anything else, Jaune?"

"I have to rescind the 'bounty'," Jaune revealed. "The Forever Fall is full of Grimm. I made CRDL Grimm bait."

"Oh," Weiss and Pyrrha said at the same time. "Crap."

RWBY and JNPR stared slack jawed at the two celebrities. "Both of you?!" Ruby cried.

"I didn't think it was possible!" Nora shouted and gripped Ren tightly in semi-faked terror.

"Me either," Jaune added.

"Only Weiss and Pyrrha could turn saying the word crap into an event," Blake teased.

Weiss huffed and looked to the other world-famous young woman in the room. "Pyrrha and I have standards. Blake, you also present a great deal of class!"

"Can we go back to how Weiss cussed?" Ruby joked.

* * *

Jaune Arc wanted to savor this moment. He was alone in a bedroom with Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee. Granted, it wasn't _that_ kind of alone. Still, the young man was enjoying seeing the looks of concentration as Weiss and Pyrrha poured over Jaune's statement.

"Is that verb too forceful?" Pyrrha asked as she leaned forward. Weiss also leaned in close.

 _'I will remember this moment...'_ Jaune swore to himself.

"No," Weiss countered. "It is deceptive. Remember, we want our apology to be sincere, but still demonstrate we refuse to condone their actions."

"What do you think, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune, once again demonstrating his hard earned knowledge, simply nodded. He then added, "You both have done an excellent job and I will follow your lead on this."

"Shouldn't a leader know when to take command?" Weiss finished with a playful smirk.

"Great leaders also know when to delegate to their subordinates when said subordinates are as talented in an area as they are pretty," Jaune said automatically.

Weiss turned to Pyrrha and sighed. "Are you _absolutely_ sure RWBY can't kidnap your partner and chain him to the kitchen island?"

"I am quite fond of Jaune. Absolutely is a rather large understatement," Pyrrha answered.

"It was worth the effort of asking..." Weiss flipped her long pony tail over her shoulder.

The girls quickly returned to working on the statement. Jaune occasionally chimed in with a suggestion or a thought. The young man couldn't help but smile as the two gorgeous women treated his ideas seriously and with care.

"I believe this statement will meet all of Professor Ozpin's requirements," Weiss stated definitively.

"I agree completely," Pyrrha added. "The statement also denounces racism. That is an important step."

"You ladies are amazing in _everything,"_ Jaune praised. "I'll talk to Professor Ozpin about the replacement for the 'bounty'. That Second Year who was being bullied, do you know her name?"

Pyrrha and Weiss shook their heads. "Oh well," Jaune added. "I'll find out."

* * *

Professor Ozpin was pleased by Jaune's statements and the letter. Jaune happily ignored the fact that Ozpin knew the letter to CRDL was lifted nearly wholesale from the statement that Pyrrha and Weiss had jointly written. The second visit to Ozpin's office was progressing along a far more cordial path.

"Mr. Arc," Ozpin began. "I am very eager to see the performance of Teams JNPR and RWBY in Forever Fall. The unity displayed by your teams is everything Huntresses and Huntsmen should embody and strive for."

"Thank you, sir," Jaune said. "Is there anything else you _require?"_

The Professor smiled knowingly as he leaned back in his chair. Ozpin looked over his glasses as he took stock of Jaune. "Perhaps, but I do believe that can wait until after the excursion to Forever Fall is complete."

"Yes sir," Jaune responded. "Is there anything else?"

Ozpin chuckled. "Remember expectations from now on. Pettiness has no place at Beacon. Second, please keep Nora from drinking all the sap."

"The sap, sir?"

"You'll see what I am talking about soon enough," Ozpin promised.

Jaune nodded, but didn't think much of Ozpin's typical cryptic warnings...

Hours later, Jaune _really, really_ wished he had thought more about Ozpin's cryptic warnings. "Nora! We have to turn in the Red Sap to Professor Peach!"

"Ah, Jaune! It's _soooooo_ good! I want to put it on pancakes! Please, can I get some more!" Nora begged.

"This is my time at Beacon," Blake said flatly. "This is what going mad must be like..."

"Oh, you're already there," Jaune teased.

"You sound so certain, Jaune," Blake countered.

"Well, Blake. You're already mad. I'm mad. Ren's a bit mad. Yang and Weiss are full on mad..."

"Hey!" The two girls in question snapped.

Jaune flashed an exaggerated Chesire grin. "We're all mad here. If you weren't mad already, there's no way you'd be here."

Blake laughed as she filled up a bottle of sap. "Did you just quote Ijzer Carrol?"

"If the shoe fits," Jaune said with a shrug. "I mean have you _met_ Ruby and Pyrrha when they are training someone?"

"Jaune! I only shot you _twice!"_ Ruby shouted. "And Pyrrha only did it once!"

Weiss rested her head against a nearby tree. "Ruby, you _still_ shot Jaune...twice!"

"I only shot him a little!" The Silver-eyed Reaper protested in self-defense.

Any further hilarity, be it Nora's Red Sap obsession, Ruby's flustered attempts to explain away the _two_ times she had shot Jaune, or Pyrrha's horror that she too had shot her crush were swept away by the cries of some of the other classmates.

"What's happening?" Ruby asked. Her earlier childishness from protesting about shooting Jaune was gone.

"Ursas!" A classmate no one in JNPR or RWBY recognized shouted as they ran by. "Too many!"

Weiss quickly took stock of the teams running by. "Where is CRDL?"

"No one knows!" Another student called out as they fell back.

"Where are the Ursa?" Ruby asked.

The panicked mass revealed the general direction of the advancing Grimm. Heedless of the dire warnings, RWBY and JNPR ran towards the monsters. They also were hoping that CRDL was nowhere near the danger.

Jaune was fairly certain with the insanity that was Beacon, CRDL would be in the thick of it. The leader of JNPR had fully accepted that the strange and unpredictable was likely the natural state of being for Jaune now.

Roars heralded the Ursas coming into view.

"Weiss! Use your Glyphs to get Yang into position! Blake, I'll cover you until you get into position to suppress the Ursa at 11 o'clock!" Ruby immediately became the leader Ozpin believed she could be.

Jaune would have no doubt been impressed, but he was currently fulfilling his duty. "Ren, supress the Ursa to your left. Nora...leg break dot exe on anything that isn't human, Faunus, or a domesticated animal! Pyrrha...you're with me on the shield wall."

CRDL was actually making a solid showing for themselves. As the two other teams arrived, Sky and Dove successfully killed a very small, but aggressive Ursa. Cardin was acquitting himself as well as possible against the large Ursa assailing him. However, he was being overwhelmed. Pyrrha and Jaune's arrival was very fortuitous. Pyrrha and Jaune were moving in near perfect synchronicity. They stabbed the Grimm right behind its mask at practically the same time. Jaune and Pyrrha's momentum also pushed the dying Ursa away from Cardin.

"Why the hell are you here?" Cardin barked.

"Helping you kill Grimm, the hell does it look like?" Jaune barked back. Cardin growled, but didn't say another word as he rallied his wounded team. The combined might of CRDL, RWBY, and JNPR dispatched the last trio of Ursa without further incident.

Cardin helped Sky to his feet and glared at the two relieving teams. "Thank you. I really mean it, but don't expect this or that fancy letter to really smooth things over."

"Can't blame you," Ruby admitted with a shrug. Her gesture caught Russel's attention, as well as fire up Yang's protective instincts.

Jaune could _taste_ the adrenaline bleed off starting. "I think we should all head back. A warm meal, a warm bath, and a warm bed sound like the trinity of awesome right now."

"For once, Arc," Cardin chuckled as he rolled his neck. "you don't sound like an idiot."

* * *

The two teams couldn't separate fast enough. Professor Goodwitch was rushing towards the students. She spent several minutes debriefing each student. As Nora was being interrogated about the nature of "Nora Leg Break dot Exe", Blake bumped her partner.

"What?" Yang asked testily, sounding for all the world like a very angry Ursa or Mother Bear.

"You can't murder Russel in his sleep for looking at your sister," Blake teased.

"Not even a _little bit?"_ Yang pleaded. It was the same voice she used to get whatever she wanted out of her daddy back home.

"Not even a little bit," Blake replied.

Yang sighed. _'Looks like that tone of voice only works on men...'_

Ruby was surprised when _she_ was called to Ozpin's office along with Jaune. The Reaper hadn't received any noise complaints regarding spending quality time with her baby testing out new and exciting SDC cartridges in three whole days. She wasn't going to complain at the moment as Ruby was enjoying a monopoly of Jaune-time.

"Can you really teach me to make cookies soon?" Ruby asked hopefully.

Jaune laughed. "Ruby, I can teach you to make chocolate cookies, with four types of chocolate chips."

The young man kept walking and didn't notice his companion had become rooted in place with a look hunger...and not just for cookies. Jaune suddenly sensed his friend had stopped in place and turned around. Ruby, realizing the direction her thoughts had been taken, was a moment from using her Semblance to flee somewhere quiet to collect her thoughts.

"Everything okay?" Jaune asked. "If you are stressed or tired still from Forever Fall, I can take notes at the meeting with Professor Ozpin."

"No!" Ruby squeaked. "Just thinking."

"Dangerous," Jaune joked.

Ruby scuffed her feet jokingly. "And here I thought one Weiss was bad enough!"

Team JNPR's leader laughed as the pair continued their journey towards the enigmatic Headmater's office. "Do you know what Professor Ozpin wants with us?"

"No clue," Jaune admitted. "We'll find out."

Professor Ozpin smiled as he welcomed the two team leaders into his office. "Please, take a seat."

"Thanks, Professor." Ruby waved happily.

Team RWBY's leader sat first with Jaune close behind. "Is this about your 'request'?"

"Indeed Mr. Arc," Ozpin confirmed Gris' son's theory. "I am in need of two talented teams to carry out a mission...a very important mission that is uniquely suited to your teams."

"A Secret Mission?" Ruby gasped.

"Top, Ms. Rose," Ozpin sweetened the briefing.

Jaune smiled at the combination of utter seriousness and childish enthusiasm. He brought the briefing back to focus. "What is the mission?"

"Are you two familiar with Tukson's Book Store?"

Ruby nodded. "They claim to have every book under the sun. I've bought a few books there. Mr. Tukson is a nice guy."

"He's also a defector from the White Fang Terrorist Organization. The mission for JNPR and RWBY is to escort Tukson from his bookstore to _The Silver Cirri_ so that he can be taken to safety," Ozpin explained.

"Professor, there has to more to this than simply getting someone to an airship," Ruby hazarded a guess.

After a sip of coffee, Ozpin confirmed Ruby's suspicions. "Of course, Ms. Rose. That 'more' will be left to individuals with experience in the sort of delicate matters required. I assure you that RWBY and JNPR are playing a vital role in this operation."

"Are we expecting to encounter the White Fang?" Jaune asked.

The Headmaster leaned forward. "At this time, no. The longer we dilly dally, the more likely the White Fang is to locate Tukson. He has information that could bring the terrorist wing of the organization to justice. Ms. Rose, Mr. Arc...you could help purify the soul of an organization and bring the world to better understand the Faunus one day."

"Team RWBY won't let you down, sir," Ruby Rose declared. Jaune found he could only nod in agreement.

Ozpin provided enough briefing material to fill the teams in nearly completely. Jaune and Ruby headed to back to the dorms to brief their teams. The two team leaders decided to play paper rock scissors to see who would brief the teams. Jaune 'won' and had to handle all the questions, explanations, and responsibilities. Ruby got to claim superior leadership skills through delegation.

After JNPR and RWBY had gathered, Jaune took his position at the head of the table. "Ladies and Ren, Ruby and I have just met with Professor Ozpin. We have a mission. Our teams. This is top secret and not without risk."

"Hey, it'll be the eight of us! Whatever Remnant throws at us, we'll wreck it's shit!" Yang declared full of bravado, legitimate confidence, pride and affection for the small army sitting around a dinner table.

"Hear hear!" Nora chimed in.

Ruby beamed. _This_ was the exact moment she had dreamed of when Professor Ozpin had offered her a place at Beacon.

"What is the mission?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune and Ruby nodded at each other. Ruby stood up. "I'm sure you all know about the White Fang."

The reactions were very telling. Yang, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha all remained professional. Weiss's eyes grew dark and she clinched her fists tightly. Blake...Blake recoiled as if hit.

"They are a collection of terrorists and criminals," Weiss hissed.

"The White Fang wasn't always like that!" Blake cried out. The passion and desperation for _someone_ to understand that fact was clear and evident in her voice.

"Blake..." Weiss started to speak. There was a hint of 'lecturing' in the heiress's tone, but there was far more understanding and friendship.

"Is right," Jaune interjected. "The White Fang has not always been a terrorist organization. Ozpin explained that the White Fang was originally a peaceful organization. Our mission is to escort a defector from the White Fang to _The Silver Cirri._ Maybe this could help clear out the White Fang and restore it. The Faunus need an advocate. They've been mistreated and discriminated for...well...ever. Maybe this can be our part in bringing terrorists to justice, cause who knows what this guy knows, and giving the Faunus back their peaceful group..."

Blake was looking at the table. Truthfully, she was looking through the table to something very far away. "Are you just harping Ozpin's words...or do you believe that?"

"I'll admit these are Ozpin's words. I didn't know a single bit about the White Fang other than the news reports, but I trust Ozpin. I trust in the fact that we can do better by the Faunus than we have been doing."

"I agree, Jaune," Pyrrha added. "We can do so much more. Maybe this mission could be the start of something."

The others nodded in agreement, even Weiss, and Blake allowed herself to hope. "So," she began. "What _exactly_ is our mission?"

Tukson was not always Tukson. For a long time, he had been Rojo Boligrafo. He had been a loyal agent of the White Fang. He had believed in the cause of Faunus Equality to the point where he was willing to kill for it.

And he had.

Shaking, he reached for the bottle again. Tukson poured a hearty draught of brown liquor and anticipated the burn as he drank it. The burn and the intoxication that was filling his mind helped him focus on happier memories. One of those memories was his promotion to Quatermaster of the entire Organization. Rojo had been so proud. His brothers and sisters had slapped him on the back. "Rojo will keep us fed! Rojo can rub two sticks together and make bread fall out!" Those jokes filled him with pride to this very moment.

He had even gotten the young leader, Adam Taurus, to smile at him. Tukson could only recall one other person who made Adam smile. Coughing as the liquor burned on the way down, Tukson remembered the day that woman had left.

"Things really went to shit after that," Tukson sighed. The White Fang, under Adam's direction, had become ever more violent. Protests and politics had been abandoned. There was no defensive struggles anymore. There were bombings, kidnappings, 'surgical strikes against soft targets of the human military-industrial complex'.

"Surgical strikes, my claws." That was simply code for shooting up a SDC Workers Apartment Complex or blowing up a subway taking men and women, even Faunus, to work.

That wasn't even the _worst_ things Rojo had discovered before making his choice. His choice had led him here. Tukson had actually enjoyed his quiet life as an entrepreneur. This little shop had done well and earned him a comfortable living and the respect of the locals.

Of course, it was too good to last. Tukson had maintained a few discreet contacts from his Old Life. If there was one thing Tukson knew about Adam Taurus, it was that the Red Bull was relentless. There should have been no surprise that Taurus had divined the truth of 'Tukson'.

It was simply a matter of time before a ghost from the former Rojo Boliografo walked through that door.

The chime at his door caused the fugitive Faunus to snort in shock. The universe was some kind of asshole for pulling a stunt like this. He had been expecting a Beacon Team to extract him. His contacts with the Headmaster hadn't mentioned two celebrities in the form of Gris Fourneau's son and 'The Invincible Girl' herself or the youngest daughter of the oppressors in the SDC. Beacon's other representatives were unremarkable in Tukson's eyes. Ozpin was seemingly attempting the 'Refuge in Audacity' strategy.

All doubt in Ozpin's stratagem was washed completely away. As Tukson washed down another pour of liquor, a true ghost entered his shops.

"Well, I didn't think _you'd_ be involved in this," Tukson said with a rueful chuckle. There was no humor in the laugh or directed at a former comrade.

"R-Rojo?" The girl asked.

Tukson shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Yeah. It looks like we are both running from what _he_ tried to turn us into..."

"Rojo... _don't...they..."_

The former quartermaster shook his head. "Blake, _sister,_ the truth is just one more thing to run from...What's one more thing? We've already betrayed our nature as Faunus, the White Fang...and him. What's one more lie? One more sin?"

Blake shook with fear, not at Rojo's words per se. She had asked herself roughly the same questions over and over again. The fear was how her friends would react after having Blake's past and true nature outed by a drunk. Blake's Faunus senses could tell how much alcohol was on Rojo's breath _and_ how recently he had been drinking.

"Blake..." Yang's voice was gentle and sisterly.

 _'It would have been so much easier if you had screamed at me!'_ The ex-White Fang member wailed internally.

"Is..." Weiss started to speak. Her even tone was as painful as Yang's tone.

Blake couldn't take anymore. The outed young woman couldn't bear to listen to the others question her. Blake couldn't stand the thought of Ruby or _Jaune_ digging into her past. Especially not now or here. So, Blake fell back into old habits. Her Aura flared as she activated her Semblance.

She ran.

Like she always did and always would.


	8. Chapter 8

Yang knew that punching the objective of her first, and very top secret, mission as a Huntress would not be a great start to her career. She also knew that her eyes were likely red, the occasional fleck of flames were lapping the air around her trembling body, and she had chambered incendiary rounds into Ember Cecilia. Another fact Yang Xiao Long was certain of? She honestly didn't care about perceptions. This drunk _asshole_ had revealed something incredibly private and drove Yang's partner and one of her closest friends away.

"Yang, deep breaths," Ruby said soothingly. "Think about Zwei and the time we caught him playing poker."

Normally, that image would have Yang rolling on the ground laughing. This was not a normal situation. The only rolling Yang was currently doing was of her shoulders. **"Why?"**

"Uh-oh..." Weiss gulped.

Jaune and Ruby nodded at each other. "We'll escort 'Tukson' to the agreed location," Jaune promised.

"And RWBY will get Blake back," Ruby quickly added.

"If what this... _liquid fortified_ individual said is correct, Blake could be at risk. We have to move quickly," Weiss agreed with the faintest hint of uncertainty. Everyone, even the _Grimm,_ knew about the conflict between the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang. The conflict was considered by many to be the first open war between Human/Faunus Non-State, Non-Government Actors. Weiss was shaken by the accusations against someone she considered a true and faithful friend.

"As soon as we complete our part of this mission," Jaune spoke slowly, deliberately, and with an odd detached calmness. "We will help find Blake."

Ruby nodded. "I'll send you updates every thirty minutes."

"So will we," Nora quickly agreed while Jaune had started questioning Tukson on a few matters.

RWBY quickly said their goodbyes and left to locate their missing member.

Pyrrha sighed as Tukson grumbled and walked off to collect a few items. "Jaune, how impaired is our...associate?"

"He's functional, but we can't be sure how he'll react..." Jaune sighed. "I don't think he'll be a problem getting to Captain Colcannon, though."

Tukson returned with a small 'go-bag' and another back pack. "I'm going to miss this place."

"You've made it a successful business. It is something to take pride in," Ren stated diplomatically.

"You're pretty perceptive, kid." Tukson grunted. "Lead the way, you brats."

Jaune nodded professionally. "We're going to need to be prepared for anything, but we need to keep a low profile. Ren and Nora, there's a cafe three blocks due east. Head out, take a seat and get coffee or something. Look like you belong there. Ren, I want you on frequency six. We'll arrive in a bit. Tukson will join you guys. Pyrrha and I will continue to a florist another block and a half away. We're going to leapfrog our way to _The Silver Cerri._ Everyone stays in touch, got it?"

"Got it, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted as she locked arms with Ren.

"Frequency six," Ren reconfirmed. "The Codes we worked out?"

"You know it," Jaune answered with as confident a smile as he could muster. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Tukson watched the couple leave the bookshop in silence.

After a few moments, Tukson sighed. "Don't worry too much about Blake. She's as capable and resourceful as any woman I've ever known."

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded, but didn't say anything. Resentment born from the circumstances festered in the very air.

"I'm drunk," Tukson stated the obvious. "Still, I shouldn't have outed her like that. Blake...hadn't told you she was Fang?"

Pyrrha looked in the probable direction her friend had fled. "She hadn't even told us she was Faunus."

"Damn," the fugitive Faunus hissed. He walked through the store and arrived at a safe. The partners watched as the man retrieved a folder. "This is the deed...make sure Blake gets this. Hopefully, I still remember she loves books."

Jaune accepted the deed. "You haven't forgotten that. Blake reads more than all of us put together."

"Sounds about right," Tukson chuckled without mirth or humor. "Let's get going. I'm ready to put this behind me."

Jaune and Pyrrha escorted Tukson from the store. It was almost melancholy watching Tukson lock, and say goodbye, to his store for the final time. Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Our friends will be fine. We'll be able to help them ourselves very soon."

"Thanks, Pyrrha. You're my rock," Jaune said earnestly. The Invincible Girl blushed a brilliant crimson and simply followed Jaune and Tukson to the next location. They were both focused on what had been said between them and towards their friend. It was confusing, but it was life...and theirs.

* * *

"I wish it was as simple as yelling 'Blake!' at the top of our lungs," Ruby lamented.

"We will find her," Weiss promised. Yang was still fuming, but was no longer sliding deep into her destructive Semblance.

"Hopefully she'll call her rocket-locker or use her scroll. Since were on-a-mission-but-not-'on'-a-mission, I have my Scroll set to ping me her location. Technically, I have it set to ping all of our locations..."

"That's a good move, sis," Yang finally spoke. The elder of Taiyang's daughters would never pass up an opportunity to support her beloved baby sister.

"Thanks Yang!" Ruby responded and energetically pointed down the street. "Hey, that's the tea shop Blake loves so much! Let's check it out!"

"Ruby! Wait for us!" The Schnee Heiress called out. The Reaper's partner and sister rushed after their leader. A loud, almost metallic crash, sent the two young women into a panic.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" Ruby chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Let me help you up there, friend-o!"

Weiss and Yang watched, with a bit of concern, as Ruby helped the orange-haired girl to her feet. There was a feeling that something wasn't quite...right...with the stranger. "What did you call me?"

"Uh...friend?" Ruby repeated uncertainly.

"No one has every called me a friend! Thank you!" The girl said enthusiastically. That allayed Weiss and Yang's fears. "My name is Penny Polendina from Atlas!"

"Nice to meet you Penny! I'm Ruby Rose from Beacon. This is my older sister Yang and my partner Weiss!" Ruby greeted warmly.

"Salutations!" Penny greeted as she rose up on the balls of her feet.

"So...what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked. She was hoping her 'Come on, leave' mindset wasn't leaking through too much. She didn't want to appear bitchy, but her Semblance was still fueling her anger and it wasn't easy to maintain emotional control at the moment.

"I'm here to fight in the Tournament!" Penny declared.

"The tournament!" The sisters cried out. Weiss even gasped in surprise. They had all been so caught up in their studies, mission, and now the situation with Blake that the Vytal Tournament had become the last thing on their minds.

"Yes! It is quite exciting!" Penny agreed, not privy to the inner workings of team RWBY's minds.

Ruby exchanged a couple of glances with her sister and friend. "Uh, Penny, we were wondering...you wouldn't have had to have seen a dark haired girl with gold eyes wearing a large black bow?"

The odd Atlesian girl tilted her head to the side as she searched her memory. "I believe that I saw her from a distance a few minutes ago. She appeared quite distressed, if her speed was anything to go by, and was using very conventional pursuit evasion techniques."

Weiss sighed. Leave it to someone from Atlas to be so precise. Blake was doing her damnedest not to be found, which made Weiss feel even worse. The Schnee Heiress certainly held no love for the White Fang as that organization had been in a state of semi-open war with the SDC ever since Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus had declared a 'Directorate' in the place of the almost communal, but far more insular rule of the former leader. The fact that her friend had been a member of the White Fang, a militant one if the drunken rambling of Tukson was anything to go by, cut deeply. Worse, Blake had hidden her status as a Faunus from her team and all her friends!

_'Did...did Blake think I'd be_ just _like my father?'_ The question was troubling.

Snapping out of that line of melancholy thought, Weiss looked up. "How certain are you?"

"Exactly 87.342%. I wish I could be more accurate, but your friend was moving very quickly," Penny apologized.

"Well, okay," Yang gaped. "That's a thing."

"Thanks, Penny! We need to go find her! Our friend, uh, found out about a family emergency that really upset her. Very, extremely, private!" Ruby hastily explained.

Penny nodded. "I understand. I wish you success and good fortune! Perhaps we shall see each other at Beacon at a later date!"

"Sure! That sounds fun!" Ruby agreed. "So...which way was Blake, our friend, headed?"

The Atlesian girl pointed to the east. "At the time, she was headed east-southeast. However, you should expect her to try doubling back or other forms of evasion."

"She's right," Yang sighed. "We better get going."

"Yes, we can't dally any longer or the trail could grow cold," Weiss supported Yang.

"Bye, Penny!" Ruby shouted over her shoulder as most of Team RWBY pushed onwards. The Atlesian girl waved back happily.

_'All things considered,'_ Penny recorded in her personal memory logs. _'That went swimmingly!'_

* * *

Blake was emotionally compromised, indulging in base cowardice, and confused about her place in the world. That did not mean she was an idiot. Though, at the moment, she was starting to feel like one. Ozpin had sent RWBY and JNPR on a _mission._ A mission that dealt with the White Fang...and the former Quartermaster of the entire operational branch!

_'I should have argued harder for us bringing our weapons,'_ Blake seethed. Jaune and Ruby had laid out some very reasonable and sound arguments, but one day...maybe...Blake would have the chance to tell her friends 'I told you so'.

Right now, her longing for Gambol Shroud was based on one simple fact. She was being followed. In fact, her amateurish pursuer had been following her for the past twenty minutes. Blake had swung by the docks in hopes of using the bustle of Vale's largest harbor as a cover to _lose_ any pursuers.

_'If I've been followed since then...that blonde guy,'_ Blake deduced. He was a monkey Faunus; that much was clear. _'Agile...used to tracking and pursuit?'_

Deciding it was time to throw her pursuer off his game, Blake skidded to a stop and turned to face whoever this other Faunus turned out to be. Her right hand fell naturally into a guarded position while her left rested on her scroll at the small of her back.

The pursuer strolled into the light. Blake was feeling very on edge. No one pursued another on this level without a reason. If this had been another member of RWBY, or even JNPR, this situation would not have been this tense. Awkward and unwanted, but not hovering over a knife's edge of danger. The _only_ reason Blake could think for being chased to this level was...this guy was White Fang.

"You certainly can run," the male Faunus said with a slightly winded tone. He still wore a confident smile. Blake couldn't deny that he was an exceptionally handsome man. He wore an open jacket and blue jeans that displayed his cut abs.

_'It's like the field manual example of a honey trap came to life,'_ Blake mused.

"I think you could use a macchiato," the young man said with a knowing grin.

The moment Blake's mind processed her pursuer's words; the world was seemingly put on pause. That phrase was White Fang phrase for when an operative was suggesting extraction to another member of the White Fang.

Her eyes narrowed. "If I say no?"

"That'd be a shame. Wouldn't a break and someone to talk to be nice, though? I'm Sun, if your curious."

Blake covertly tapped her Scroll. "I'm leaving."

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow at the beautiful, but clearly mistrusting, woman in front of him. Evidently, she _really_ didn't like macchiatos.

"Can I at least get your name?" Sun asked hopefully. He needed to know _something_ about the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

To his surprise, Blake's eyes narrowed. "If whoever briefed you didn't mention who you were 'extracting', then your bosses are using you like _they_ use everyone else in the White Fang!"

"Wait, what?" The Faunus blurted out. His sensitive hearing picked up what _sounded_ like a rocket locker, but... "Oh shit!" Sun blurted again as he confirmed that it _was_ in fact a rocket locker. He barely dodged the incoming hunk of metal. When he completed his combat roll, his 'quarry' had already secured her weapons. In his eyes, she appeared to be an idealized personification of a warrior woman.

"I'm not going back," Blake declared.

Once again, she ran away.

* * *

Ren sat across his best friend, lover, partner, and practically everything outside the small cafe. He couldn't believe everything that had happened since arriving at Beacon. Nora had been the closest thing he had to family since the Nuckelavee attack. Their dynamic had changed in a significant ways, but they had gained quite a bit in trade off. He hadn't planned a single thing, but couldn't and wouldn't deny that everything had seemingly fallen perfectly in place on the 'Nora Front'.

They had even gained more family. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Team RWBY were definitely a very unusual family, but they were Ren and Nora's family.

"I know what you're thinking, Renny," Nora chirped as she scanned the street. "But Blake's a big talented girl. She'll be fine. And if she isn't, well, when Team RWBY finishes destroying whoever put her in danger then we'll get our turn!"

"Nora," Ren said with a smile. "Our _objective_ is the one who put this whole situation in motion."

Nora pouted. "Stop being right. Pyrrha and I can't break his legs..."

"RWBY will find Blake. We'll complete this mission and help find Blake if they haven't, or help surround her to keep her from running away again," Ren said as a way to placate his love.

"I'm going to give her the _biggest_ hug," Nora declared. "Flower shop."

The simple announcement revealed that Jaune, Pyrrha, and Tukson had arrived at their change-off location. Ren and Nora quickly paid their bill and walked across the street. Tukson split off from Pyrrha and Jaune and fell in line with Nora and Ren. Jaune and Pyrrha slipped into the shop. Pyrrha started to wander excitedly. This was only partially a facet of their cover. Pyrrha legitimately was thrilled to be in such a place. Her time as an arena champion and reluctant celebrity, never allowed her to indulge in gardening. She had always wanted a garden. The idea of cultivating beautiful life that would bring happiness, even for a time, to others was appealing to her very nature.

' _Perhaps...'_ Pyrrha's thought was cut off before it could crystallize.

What was the reason for the sudden severing of conscious thought? Jaune Arc had decided to do something completely Jaune Arc-ish. Pyrrha had been lost in her longing for a simpler, far more private, life and lost track of her partner. In the brief moments of distraction, Jaune had somehow found, purchased, and approached Pyrrha with a white and red Crocus flower.

"Thought of you," was all Jaune said or needed to say.

Pyrrha melted then and there at a pace that rivaled a chocolate bar left in a car in the middle of Vacuo's Empty Quarter at noon in the deepest, hellishly hot part of summer. Her natural inhibitions had been weakened to the point where she was about to make a _move_.

Alas, the Universe had other plans.

"RWBY to JNPR," Ruby's voice echoed in JNPR's earpieces. "No sign of B. Status of your day trip?"

Jaune flashed his partner a sympathetic look before slipping off to the side. "Going good, kiddo. We'll be home for dinner."

"Keep in touch," Ruby said softly.

Jaune nodded, though the gesture would go unseen. "Same."

"Have they found Blake?" Pyrrha masked her disappointment with her genuine concern for her friend.

"Not yet," JNPR's leader confirmed wearily. Ren quickly reported that they were in position. "We're two hops from being able to help."

"I hope she's alright..." Pyrrha whispered.

Roughly an hour later, and two check-ins between Team RWBY and Team JNPR, Tukson and his escorts arrived at the aerodome. The _Silver Cerri_ was waiting for the Beacon Students to arrive. Captain Colcannon was halfway down the ramp before JNPR even reached the grand airship's berth.

"Oi! You with the head on ya!" Kale bellowed. "I hope ya friend ain't the only one comin' on board this Oul Battleaxe."

"Afraid not, Captain," Jaune announced. "My buddy 'Tukson' is the only one joining your crew."

Everyone could tell that 'buddy' was anything but accurate given Jaune's tone. The Faunus fugitive flinched, but knew he shouldn't blame JNPR for their annoyance. Kale took a step forward and appraised the Faunus.

"Aye," Kale said after a moment. "Get on board. Laal will get ya to yer bunk."

"Aye, aye Captain," Tukson said sharply.

The Captain laughed. "I think you'll do well."

Tukson nodded to JNPR before boarding the airship. After a moment, Pyrrha turned her attention to the Captain. "Excuse me Captain. May I ask a question?"

"Of course, lass. Ask whenever you're ready."

"Have you seen," Pyrrha fished out her scroll and pulled up a joint picture of RWBY and JNPR. She quickly pointed out Blake. "this woman? There was...an incident and we were separated."

Colcannon lit a pipe. "I didn't but Buteo couldn't stop tongue wagging about what a ride some girl was. His description matched your friend."

Jaune took a step forward. "Did he say where?"

"She was hanging around the port's entrance. Buteo offered her a ride, but she refused and dashed."

"Do you know which direction?" Ren interjected.

"Sorry boyo, but that wouldn't help much. If the lass is crafty, she'll double back and use all sorts of tricks ta throw you lot off her trail," Kale explained.

"Why do you think she's trying to avoid us?" Nora asked through gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.

Colcannon laughed ruefully. "Cause I know the type. I _was_ the type. Didn't get right with what I was runnin' from for a long time...long time."

JNPR remained silent. The captain continued, "Good luck. Don' worry too much. Girl like that, I'd hate to be someone getting in her way right now."

* * *

Team RWBY arrived in the alleyway where Blake's Rocket Locker had touched down. They were desperately searching for clues. Yang, having the most experience in these matters, had taken the lead and was interviewing everyone nearby.

Weiss sighed as she tried to divine any clues from the angle of the Rocket Locker's landing. "Ruby, I'm worried."

"We're all worried, Weiss. But don't fret too much! We'll find her or I'll give up strawberries _and_ chocolate chip cookies," Ruby declared.

"Of course I'm worried about Blake, she's our friend! A friend who will receive a very stern _talking to_ once we find her, but that's not quite what I'm worried about the most at the moment," Weiss answered with a smile that faded into a concerned scowl.

"What are you thinking, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

The Schnee heiress pointed to the angle that the locker had landed. "Doesn't something seem a bit off about the angle?"

"It's leaning a lot. Rocket Lockers are supposed to land vertically..." Ruby mumbled as she was distracted by all the engineering thoughts and calculations rumbling through her head. "We need to check those fire escapes."

Weiss followed Ruby's gestures to the three fire escapes/balconies in the alley. "I'll ask the owners of these buildings. Go fill in Yang."

"Hey! _I'm_ the leader of Team RWBY!" The reaper grumbled and stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Take it under advisement then!" Weiss countered playfully. She quickly strolled towards the nearest building.

Ruby shrugged and walked over to where her sister was fending off some random guy's very clumsy attempt to flirt with her. RWBY's leader was fairly certain Yang was about to fall back into her Semblance.

"Yang! We've got a lead!" Ruby announced both to inform her older half-sister and valiantly rescue her from the idiot who wasn't taking a hint. She really wished she had brought Crescent Rose. _That_ would have sent the guy running and made sure he would leave Yang alone.

"Oh thank Oum!" Yang threw up her hands, both in celebration that they had a lead on locating her partner and as a convenient escape route from the idiot who wasn't taking a hint. "What do you need me to do to track down our… 'objective'?"

"I can't tell you around a _civilian,"_ Ruby said sharply. The younger woman was honestly having a blast playing up her Huntress on a mission act. Which...honestly wasn't an act at the moment, but Ruby was going to indulge a bit to keep her mind somewhat off her hurt that Blake was gone.

Yang gleefully ditched the guy and headed into the alley. "What have we got?"

"Weiss and I think Blake brought her Rocket Locker down at the odd angle on purpose. We're going to check the three fire escapes to see if she jumped up on them to escape."

"Okay," Yang said as she started looking for anything that jumped out to her. She _had_ to find her partner. "Weiss is searching..."

"The lower left," Ruby answered quickly. "I'm going to access the Rocker Locker's systems to see if I can find anything useful."

"On it," Yang quickly agreed. Team RWBY go to work. They were hoping to find something that would reunite them with their friend.

As Ruby worked, she reached out to her friends in JNPR. _'You better have some good news, Jaune...'_

* * *

"We're following up on leads as well," Jaune assured Ruby. "Good luck."

Ren approached his closest guy friend. "Has RWBY had any luck?"

"Yeah, actually. They found Blake's Rocket Locker." Jaune wanted to continue, but Nora ran up and interrupted.

There was no annoyance, because Jaune could tell Nora had uncovered something important. "Jaune! Renny! I think you'll want to know about this!"

"What's up, Nora?" Jaune asked.

"Well, Pyrrha and I were trying to find out some information from people, but couldn't get much since all the guys were hitting on us..." Nora started. Pyrrha, who had been following her friend at a reasonable plan blushed in both anger and embarrassment, but mostly anger. The girls were pleased by the possessive/protective reactions of their teammates which helped the anger fade.

"What we did uncover," Pyrrha interjected, eager for a change in subject, "was that there have been a string of Dust Store burglaries."

"The police said it was almost like someone was trying to equip an army,"

Jaune's eyes went wide. _"That's_ why Professor Ozpin needed us to get Tukson out. He'd know what was going down..."

He quickly produced his Scroll and entered Ozpin's Contact Data. Fortunately, the Headmaster answered promptly. "Ah, Mr. Arc! I have received word from Captain Colcannon that Tukson was delivered safely. I knew I could count on JNPR and RWBY."

"Thank you sir, but we have a situation," Jaune reported. Ozpin remained silent and Jaune realized that was a cue to continue. "Tukson...revealed that Blake was not only a Faunus, but an ex-White Fang operative."

"That is unfortunate," Ozpin said neutrally.

"Understatement much, sir?" Jaune snapped. He couldn't help but see the shocked and betrayed look on his friend's face. The fear of rejection that had been polluting her beautiful features was haunting. The fact that Ozpin could be so blasé about such a personal betrayal perpetrated against Blake!

"Apologies, I know this is a difficult situation. We weren't sure why Blake had summoned her Rocket Locker and were looking into matters," Ozpin amended his stance.

Jaune recounted exactly what happened. The anger remained in his voice. Ozpin could understand the reaction. Teams JNPR and RWBY were practically one team, all things considered, and were full of passionate individuals.

"Continue your search," the Headmaster said gently. "Curfew for Teams RWBY and JNPR are extended until midnight tonight. I will personally inform Professors Goodwitch, Port, Peach, and Doctor Oobleck of your special permissions. If there is any information you require from the authorities in Vale, contact me. I will make use of my connections."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Jaune said. "I'll contact Ruby and her team now."

"Good luck, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said as he ended the call.

"What did Professor Ozpin say, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"He's not going to punish us for being out so long after the mission was complete?" Nora asked. "Cause, I'm scared that would lead to us getting out pancake rations cut..."

"We're not in trouble," Jaune assured his friend. "In fact, JNPR and RWBY have had our curfews extended until midnight and Professor Ozpin is informing the rest of the staff so we won't get in any trouble. I need to call Ruby and let her know."

"And Blake?" Ren asked.

"Well, we better find her and get her back on Campus by midnight then," Jaune declared succinctly.

JNPR all nodded and quickly reached out to the majority of RWBY. They were now on the clock.

And they weren't going back without their friend. Consequences be damned.

* * *

JNPR wasn't the only ones aware of the Dust Store robberies. Blake Belladonna was currently staking out one of the stores that had been hit. The police were pursuing multiple angles, but the only realistic leads always led back to the White Fang and/or Roman Torchwick. Blake could easily believe, and wanted to believe, that it was only Torchwick behind the crime wave. The thought that the Fang was stockpiling Dust could only mean Adam was preparing for a major offensive operation. An attack on the magnitude hinted at by the Dust thefts could only mean that Sienna Khan had also signed off on such a spectacular plan. Adam may be a darkly charismatic and meticulous operational leader, but his ability to keep his faction of the White Fang properly funded was a struggle.

That had actually been Rojo and Blake's main focus during their days as revolutionaries.

Frowning at the thought of being outed by Rojo in one of his drunken emotional pits, Blake tried to refocus. She had slipped a glance at the patrol officer guarding the crime scene's folder. There was a pattern to the break-ins.

' _The thefts have also hit the trucks heading to the stores...'_ Blake mused. _'That means...they are going to hit the next shipment...arriving tonight...'_

Resolved, Blake started to head to the industrial docks. She was going to find out the truth. The Faunus beauty's hand brushed up against her Scroll and a storm formed in her mind.

"Should I call them?" Blake asked the wind. "Would they even answer?"

Blake had acted rashly and out of fear. There was no doubt her friends would accept her apology and likely welcome her back, but they were no doubt hurt by her actions.

"I can't keep running away after this," Blake decided. "I'm sorry, everyone."

* * *

Weiss was smiling as she ended the call with her home. "I just got some information from Klein. There is a sizable shipment of Dust coming into the Industrial Aerodome tonight. If Blake wants to find evidence to clear the White Fang of their involvement, that is where she will be."

"Great work, Weiss!" Ruby high-fived her partner. In another situation, Weiss accepting the high-five would have elicited a number of humorous responses from the recently assembled friends.

"You really came through in the clutch," Jaune agreed. "I know we're all hoping that these attacks are the work of Roman. That being said...there's going to be violence. Not against Grimm, but _people_."

"We're going to try to use nonlethal tactics, but if it is a choice between any of you and them, I'm choosing my friends," Ruby declared.

"Call in my Rocket Locker," Yang ordered. "We're getting our friend and my partner back."

"It's on its way," Ruby declared as she looked up from her Scroll.

Jaune nodded at its team to confirm that their equipment was on its way as well. JNPR and RWBY were preparing mentally as their Rocket Lockers arrived. As Ruby took the lead on contacting Professor Ozpin about the situation, Jaune approached Yang.

"We're not going back to Beacon without Blake," Jaune said without preamble.

"Damn right we aren't," Yang agreed.

Jaune was caught a bit off guard by Yang's fervor, but he smiled in return. "Nora put the handcuffs in my locker as a joke."

"Hopefully we can just talk Blake into coming back," Yang's anger deflated as the hurt seeped into her voice.

"You know, Blake didn't run because she doesn't care," Jaune tried to comfort his blonde compatriot. "I'd say she ran because she was afraid that we'd reject her for her past."

"We'd never do that! Even _Weiss_ is freaking out," the brawler was cut off by a shouted 'Hey!' from Weiss, but continued. "and her family and the White Fang are at  war!"

"Blake's perceptive and one of the smartest people we know," Jaune said plainly. Yang nodded in response. Continuing, Jaune added. "But we know what her Semblance is. She can't read minds. 'Tukson' outed Blake in a pretty dickish way. I have a feeling that the 'he' Rojo was talking about was...well... _Adam Taurus."_

"Shit," Yang hissed. "That means Blake was in deep. I guess I can understand her freak out more...but she didn't _have_ to run from us, from me."

Jaune noted the last bit, but left his curious observation unspoken. "We'll just have to let Blake know when we catch up to her."

"When you're right, you're right," Yang sighed. "Are you sure you can't just whip up some kind of fish thingy to draw her out?"

"I don't have a recipe for 'Some Kind of Fish Thingy' on me...maybe we can bribe her with the idea of one?" Jaune teased.

Yang laughed. "Thanks. You know, for someone we've all nicknamed Fugitive, you're pretty good at sticking around, Jaune..."

"Thanks," Jaune chuckled. Any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of the Rocket Lockers. JNPR and RWY quickly equipped their weapons and were off. Weiss was in the lead as she was most familiar with the Industrial Aerodome.

"I should have brought my bike..." Yang grumbled as she followed her sister's partner. The elder daughter of Taiyang found herself hoping that some form of hostile goon would be at the docks. Yang needed to hit something very hard. She would rather it be a criminal, but if not the fiery brawler was certain she could goad someone into a fight back at Beacon or at some nightclub. Yang needed a release and would get it.

Somehow.

* * *

Roman Torchwick was not a racist. He hated, derided, and planned on using and discarding all but one living being on Remnant equally. The derision he was heaping on the hired White Fang help was not at all because they were Faunus. It was because they weren't Neopolitan or Roman Torchwick. So, if anything, Roman was being a humanitarian trying to uplift these incompetents to such rarefied levels of competence, good looks, and style.

Truly, Roman was a magnanimous son-of-a-bitch.

The thought brought a smile to his face as he exited the Bullhead. "Alright you motley crew of flea-bitten revolutionaries! Time is money and we're losing both! Let's load these crates and go home!"

A series of snarled curses were aimed at Roman, but were deflected with a casual twirl of Melodic Cudgel. He was in too good of a mood, honestly. Neo was off making sure that their insurance policy against their _wonderful_ business associates was 'up to date'. Roman was going to make sure that they had a way out of this god-awful deal.

_'All in all,'_ Roman thought. _'I better enjoy this positive moment before it all goes to shit...'_ Roman decided to chastise an idiot for not handling the tow cable properly. The Crime Lord had expected worse, honestly.

On cue, cold steel was pressed against this throat. "For fuck's sake!"

"Nobody move!" A young woman's voice called out. Roman watched a black ribbon float in front of his face with utter boredom. "Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang! Why are you working with this _scum?"_

Roman suddenly recognized visible from the corner of his eye from the furious ranting of the White Fang officer 'assigned' to this venture. This was Blake Belladonna. Roman wondered if he could get a ransom bidding war going between Menagerie and Taurus.

"Principles take a back seat to economics, Missy," Roman taunted. "I provide a service the White Fang need a great deal more than your _idealism_."

Blake flinched at the last word and the venom lacing each syllable. The momentary distraction was all Roman needed. A shot from Melodic Cudgel sent Blake sprawling. "Boys, tie her up. I'm sure someone will get a bonus if they bag her!"

"Suppressive fire!" A voice yelled out. Submachine gun, grenade, and rifle rounds rang out. The White Fang dove for cover under the torrent of fire.

_'Of course_ she _would show up! Why doesn't every other bitch ruining my life show up as well! Let's just make this_ fine _evening 'Shit on Roman Night!'_

"Well, Red. I knew you'd show up to ruin another of my nights!" Roman shouted.

"Roman _and_ the White Fang. Fantastic!" Weiss huffed with magnificent sarcasm. A series of glyphs appeared and formed a stairway to Blake. "Yang! Go!"

No one would have to tell Yang Xiao Long twice. She was already using the momentum boosting properties of the glyphs to position herself in front of Blake. Three White Fang militants were charging with drawn sabers. Yang had been craving a release for her anger, fear, concern, and, at this point at night, _hangriness_. The White Fang were _generously_ providing Yang with the perfect release. The first militant thrust his blade at Yang's midsection. The brawler side-stepped the attack and hyper-extended the man's elbow with a palm thrust. Instantly, she had used her momentum to push her first victim to the ground. Yang was already cartwheeling into the middle opponent and brought her heel down on the crown of the Antelope Faunus's head. Landing in a crouch, Yang had completed a furious cascade of strikes to the final asshole's kidney, ribs, and jaw. The entire explosion of violent catharsis had barely lasted fifteen seconds. Blake had barely had time to rise to her feet before Yang had obliterated the attackers.

"Yang?"

"Who else would be coming to save your ass?" Yang questioned.

A scream and a crash heralded the arrival of She of the Boop into the melee. "I'd say Nora is involved."

"You know what I meant!" Yang responded to the teasing. "Ah crap! Bullheads!"

The aircraft were coming in for a textbook attack run. Yang and Blake had no chance to dodge the fusillade of high caliber rounds seeking to eliminate the warrior women. It seemed the docks had other ideas about Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long exiting the world. Dozens of shipping containers reformed into a protective wall around the Huntresses with unnatural speed. Yang looked over her shoulder and saw Pyrrha, arms outstretched and surrounded by an odd distortion, controlling the shipping containers.

"Thanks for shipping us, P-Money!" Yang shouted as she and Blake moved to support their team.

* * *

Jaune was exceptionally grateful for the intense training Pyrrha and Ruby had put him through at Beacon. He had just made a mistake that a few months of go would have been fatal. Jaune had turned his attention to gawk at Pyrrha's display of power. The White Fang did not allow him a moment to appreciate not only his partner's abilities, but those of all his dear friends. Instead the radical Faunus made a valiant effort to remove Jaune's liver. Jaune expanded Crocea Mors' shield form to full width. He used the expansion to knock the sword thrust aside. The Knight took a quick swipe at the exposed arm of his opponent. His enemy was not a Hunter. There was no substantial level of Aura to protect the Faunus. Crocea Mors cut off the arm.

_'It is my friends or them. He'll live. I have to protect my friends. That's why I'm a Hunter,'_ Jaune repeated that mantra as he managed to block a burst of machine gun fire from another White Fang militant. The Cook/Knight continued to advanced and simply bashed the soldier with the shield of Crocea Mors. Jaune's momentum knocked the Faunus into a shipping container. Team JNPR's leader had never kicked someone in the face, and he was surprised by how much force it generated. He was doubly surprised when not only did he knock the guy out, but broke the man's cheek.

Pushing aside such thoughts, he moved out to assist his team and friends.

* * *

Weiss Schnee was singularly focused as she fought her family's war. _'Deflect and redirect,'_ Weiss recalled her lessons. Even as she recalled her training that Jacques had spared no expense for, a realization struck her.

Weiss was not fighting for the Schnee.

Her sister, perhaps, but Weiss had barely considered herself on the side of the Schnee Dust Corporation. The Heiress owed her allegiance to the seven people currently fighting for each other and their own lives beside her.

Saber and Myrtenaster clashed. Weiss was quickly establishing dominance over her opponent when the sound of a chainsaw was eclipsed in violence by a voice roaring, "Die Schnee!"

Weiss had combat tunnel vision and had absolutely no chance of dodging or redirecting the attack coming from behind her. Barring a miracle, the chainsaw would carve the young woman in half; aura be damned.

Then the Miracle arrived with a cry of "Tally-ho!" and a concrete shattering hammer blow.

Wasting no time, or a second glance at her good friend Nora, Weiss quickly smashed her primary opponent in the face with Myrtenaster's revolver mechanism. The opponent was knocked unconcious by the blow.

"Why are you defending scum?" The giant of a Faunus snarled at Nora. Weiss was shocked by the sheer size of the White Fang Agent.

"Defending?" Nora taunted. "I'm _fighting_ you, not defending you."

No other words were exchanged. Weiss wasted no time creating a series of Glyphs around the combatants. Smirking at the havoc her maelstrom of a friend would unless, Weiss called out to Nora. The Valkyrie laughed as she exploited the time-dilation effects of Weiss's Glyphs. Nora proceeded to hammer, figuratively and very _very_ literally, the White Fang Lieutenant.

"Great work Nora!" Weiss cried out as the Faunus was knocked to the ground. Nora turned a fraction to grin at Weiss and that created all the opening for the White Fang to launch a counter attack. He moved with more speed than one would have expected for such a giant. A vicious kick to the gut sent Nora sprawling. In an instant, an elbow strike caused an explosion of pain behind Weiss's forehead where she took the full brunt of the blow.

"I never dreamed I'd get to kill a Schnee..."

"Weiss!" Ruby screamed her partner. Reacting quickly, she delved into the capabilities of her Semblance to cross the docks fast enough to save her friend. Team RWBY's leader had made it a dozen steps before an explosion sent her flying.

"Oh no you don't, Red. We have a few _words_ that need to be exchanged!" Roman snarled.

Ruby rose to her feet shakily. The speed at which she had been traveling amplified the shock of her fall. Fortunately, her Aura reserves were not horribly depleted. Crescent Rose extended to its full form moments before Roman attacked. Roman had the advantage at close range. Melodic Cudgel was a **much** better short range weapon. Crescent Rose relied on reach, mobility, and momentum to be wielded at its full potential. Vale's most notorious criminal was not allowing Ruby to achieve any of those three criteria for a successful battle. The hook in the cane gun was being used to great effect to restrain Ruby. It was a testament to Ruby being a complete prodigy that she hadn't been killed yet.

Roman's next action was incredibly petty. He punched his teenage nemesis directly in the nose.

"Red." Roman stepped on the girl's stomach before she could react. "I'm going to..."

Evidently, Roman was going to be slashed viciously in the forearm by a green blur. The swipe came from someone with incredible spiritual control. The concentrated Aura in the weapon nearly penetrated through his Aura _and_ his armored coat.

"Kid. This is my favorite coat. I'm going to kill someone you love for that," Roman threatened.

"You _really_ need to shut up," RWBY's Reaper snapped and opened fire. Roman managed to deflect a single shot from Ruby's Crescent Rose. The impact of the rifle round knocked Melodic Cudgel from his grip and forced Roman to evade and take cover behind one of the Dust Containers. These _fucking kids_ were dumber than average, but they couldn't be _that_ dumb could they?

Roman smirked as the handle of Melodic Cugdel was used to turn his head. Neo was grinning at him.

"Good news, Neo?"

The only person Roman Torchwick gave a damn about nodded. She rested her umbrella sword on her shoulder and jerked her head in the general direction of "The Fuck Out of Here". As always, Neo was completely unfazed by the chaos unfolding just around the corner of the shipping container.

_'Her Semblance is damn useful,'_ Roman thought. He didn't look back as the pair slipped away into the night. The White Fang were made up of big boys and girls infected with rampant zealotry-induced stupidity. They could take care of themselves.

* * *

Pyrrha slammed her shield onto the forearm of one of the six White Fang surrounding her. Using her downward momentum, the Hoplite managed to dodge a bayonet thrust. Miló, in its xiphos-form, struck the rifle armed terrorist in the sternum. Pyrrha quickly lifted her heavily armored leg to deflect a saber slash. A bonus effect of her Semblance was that Pyrrha had a vague sense of _where_ a metallic object was. The sense wasn't perfect, but it did provide a measure of a heads-up. Quickly, Pyrrha used her Semblance to deflect the incoming bayonet thrust. She countered with a swipe of Akoúo̱ that sent the militant sprawling.

_'Where are the last two?'_ Pyrrha wondered.

The staccato retort of machine gun fire immediately had her shelter behind Akoúo̱ and expand her Semblance to deflect anything that came too close. Peering from behind her hoplon shield, she watched tracer fire streak by and force the two remaining militants behind cover. The supporting fire Pyrrha was receiving wasn't accurate by any stretch of the imagination. It was doing its job and suppressing the pair of wounded White Fang soldiers. Pyrrha cast a quick glance over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of a determined and wrathful Jaune. He was copying the shooter's stance used by Ruby and herself. Pyrrha was so proud of him.

Unfortunately that pride lasted mere moments. Quickly, it was turned to ash in her lungs as Jaune's position was engulfed in fire and shrapnel.

" **JAUNE!"** The scream was ragged, broken, and full of primal unconstrained terror that it silenced the docks for a moment. "J-Jaune..."

* * *

Nora could barely see the flames, the giant enemy _laughing_ over the prone form of her friend, and the circling Bullheads through her tears. Her second-favorite-guy ever, team leader, and all around awesome friend had taken a direct hit from a weapon designed to would _Goliaths_. Aura or no, that kind of firepower would carve anyone into pieces. Suddenly, pain decided it could wait. The emotional void where Jaune's dorky jokes stepped aside for white-hot rage.

"You **assholes!"** Nora roared. "That was my friend! The god-father of my children!"

She aimed Magnhild's grenade lauchher form as best she could through her emotional tremors. A single shot was fired and struck the White Fang Lieutenant in the side with a grenade. The man screamed in pain as he fell. Weiss, barely recovered from the twin shocks of her concussion and Jaune's...no...Weiss wouldn't consider that. Instead, Weiss would harness that fear and anger. Her own battle cry drowned out by the screams of Pyrrha, Ruby, and the various Bullheads approaching the docks, Weiss charged. She made it four steps towards her nemesis before her legs were tangled up and Weiss was tripped by a bola weapon.

A White Fang woman quickly pounced on Weiss with an air of desperation surrounding her. "Get away from my husband you little Schnee cunt!"

It was not an elegant fighting move, but Weiss was desperate to live. The Schnee Heiress could not wait for the Faunus woman to draw her knife. So, she snapped at the woman's ear and bit down hard. The Faunus screamed and attempted to slash at Weiss's throat. It would have been a fatal attack, had there not been a sickening crunch. There were two new screams that echoed through the warzone. A scream of pain as Nora's Magnhild crushed both fibula and tibula.

"My t'ika! I will kill both of you! I will kill you a thousand times!" The Lieutenant bellowed. His threats, while not empty, were un-actionable. He was too wounded from Nora's grenade and his own exhaustion. Desperately, he clawed his way over to his wife after she had been knocked off of Weiss. Nora was too exhausted to fight and was more concerned with helping Weiss to safety.

For them, the battle was ended. _'I have to find Jaune,'_ Nora wept.

* * *

Lie Ren had experienced a great deal in his life. There was a great deal of horror and loss, but moments of joy and gain as well. Ren had witnessed monsters that defied explanation and haunted his dreams to the point he would wake up screaming to Nora holding him tightly as if _she_ had _his_ Semblance. All of that was an accepted part of life on Remnant. Monsters, Dust, Semblances, and extraordinary abilities were commonplace. They had explanations. Atlas had entire divisions dedicated to explaining Aura and Semblances through the lens of science. Ren may not have a clue about the depths of the science, but he could accept the results.

What he was seeing now was something out of a fairy tale.

Ruby Rose was his friend and had a very defined, very obvious Semblance. It was _not_ something involving leaking pure energy that looked and _felt_ like molten silver.

"Jaune..." Ruby whispered.

"Ruby, we have to move! There are four Bullheads coming in for a strafing run. Ruby..." Ren tried to reason with his younger friend. Reason was quickly replaced by instinct as both fighters caught a glimpse of a rocket launcher being loaded in one of the Bullheads. Ren acted on his Instinct and activated his Semblance. There was some form of _recognition_ in the energy that erupted from Ruby's eyes. Instead of being burned by the strange energy, Ren was simply tossed close to thirty feet into the base of a loading crane. Ren couldn't get a clear view of what was happening, but the Bullheads had suffered catastrophic damage and were crashing all around Ruby.

"Ruby!" Ren yelled out for his friend as the strain of the mysterious power caught up the Reaper and she collapsed. Wounded, but determined, Ren struggled to reach the unconscious young woman. "Ruby!"

A _clang_ caused Ren to wheel around protectively and aim Stormflower at the source of the noise. "Who are you?"

"I am a friend of Ruby's. Are you a friend of Ruby?" the approaching girl asked.

Ren narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on his weapons. "She's practically my little sister."

"Well, salutations! My name is Penny Polendina! I hope we can be friends as well!" The orange-haired girl declared as she rolled forward on the balls of her feet.

"We have to survive this first," Ren pointed out flatly as a squad of White Fang approached.

"Do not worry, friend! I am Combat Ready!"

The world had evidently not finished throwing curve-balls at Ren's perceptions of reality. A hatch opened on Penny's back and quickly produced several swords.

_'Wires? How are they attached by wires?'_ Ren wondered. Regardless of how they were attached, the wires permitted Penny to use the blades at range with incredible precision. Penny's weapons were moving at such speed that Ren had trouble following the assault in real time. He could only notice the aftermath and defeated White Fang militants. _'She could even give Pyrrha a challenge...'_

Dozens of Bullheads were approaching. Several had already landed and had begun evacuating the wounded White Fang and some of the Dust. Penny quickly used two of her swords to brace herself. The other swords spun around an invisible central axis as they gathered a massive amount of energy. Ren could only gawk as the green energy lanced out. The beams bisected two of the Bullheads and damaged a third.

"Do you require additional assistance, my friend?" Penny asked with a smile of pure happiness.

"That is an understatement..." Ren grimaced as he picked up the unconscious Ruby Rose.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos was unreachable by words as she tossed aside the burning husks of Bullheads, shipping containers and even the corpses of the White Fang that littered the ruins of the Aerodome and docks. She was only vaguely aware that Nora was following in her wake. Pyrrha was glad that Nora was relatively unharmed. It was, unfortunately, not enough to even dent the hurt and anguish that had created a void in her soul.

She had to know.

The Hoplite needed to find Jaune. She was in complete denial that the man she had fallen in love with was anything other than miraculously alive. Fresh tears stung her eyes as she finally admitted the feelings that had been building for months.

Pyrrha Nikos loved Jaune Arc.

"Where are you?" Pyrrha pleaded with the silence. Her voice was hoarse and broken from her mournful screams and the exhaustion of combat. Pyrrha was very glad the White Fang had pulled out as soon as the Silver Flash had occurred. Ren had shouted something about Ruby being responsible in response to Yang's desperate cries for an explanation, but the moment 'She's going to be fine,' left Ren's lips Pyrrha redoubled her focus on rescuing Jaune. Pyrrha had never used her Semblance so recklessly and so openly before. However, she felt completely safe around her dear friends. Pyrrha had never felt so accepted and loved as _Pyrrha_ and not the 'Invincible Girl', marketing tool, or lien printer in her life. The thought of losing the one who had introduced her to such a wonderful and liberating existence was one she couldn't fathom.

The sight of twisted metal was like the twisting of a knife in her heart. Nora, Pyrrha's trusted confidant and sister-figure, gasped and that drove the knife of worry deeper into the warrior woman's heart.

"How?" Nora's single word stopped Pyrrha's spiral into despair.

"How?" Pyrrha echoed.

Jaune Arc lived.

His body was covered in slowly receding shroud of aura that resembled steel tempered at over 700 degrees Celsius.

"Pyrrha...d-did you know about Jaune's Semblance?" Nora whispered in awe.

The champion collapsed next to her beloved Jaune and wept as she listened to his breathing. It was steady, but Jaune was seriously wounded. "No, but he is alive. I don't care _what_ his Semblance is at this moment, but it kept him here..with me..with us..."

Nora and Pyrrha were not medical experts by any stretch of the imagination. The two beautiful women were elite warriors, but they knew where their talents lay. All they could offer for Jaune was hope and a cursory check for major injuries such as compound fractures or third degree burns. Pyrrha nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulders.

"Is he really alive?" Blake asked with genuine concern.

Nora and Pyrrha nodded. They were stunned that Jaune had survived at all. His injuries were severe, but the fact he was _intact_ was a miracle.

"Jaune is breathing easily," Nora breathed out in relief. The hammer-wielder turned and noticed that Blake's Faunus ears were still exposed. She had never seen them before. _'She should be proud of those.'_

Nora smiled as she saw Blake's Faunus ears twitch. "There's a whole lot of sirens approaching."

"Can you hear ambulances?" Pyrrha pressed.

The newly-revealed Faunus nodded. "At least six."

Pyrrha brushed Jaune's bangs away from his eyes. _'Jaune, you and Ruby are going to make it. You_ have _to,'_ the champion pleaded with her two friends.

"Nora," Pyrrha turned her attention from Jaune to her sister-figure. "I'm sorry. How are your injuries? I hope they are not too severe?"

"I'm going to be sore as hell for a few days, but I'll be alright. I'm just glad we're all going to be okay," Nora answered. "And yes, we are all going to be okay. Jaune is just too Jaune to realize he's been hit by a missile so he'll be up complaining about water tasting like beef wellington in a day or two. Ruby will be begging for Jaune to make some kind of glorious chocolate cake thing that will have us all fighting over the last piece."

The levity helped Pyrrha and Blake immensely. "I still don't want to know how Jaune got _that_ side-effect," Blake added. "He's going to make it," Blake continued mostly to herself. "I'm going to check with my team and send Ren this way."

"Thank you," Pyrrha said quietly.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long was furious and normally her Semblance would be active and raging out of control. This was not a normal situation. Anger was not her dominant emotion at the moment. It was fear.

Horrible, all consuming, _fear._

She was terrified for the safety of her friends. She and Pyrrha had made it out of the battle with little more than exhaustion to show for their 'victorious' efforts. Ren and Blake had suffered a few bruises, but nothing serious. Weiss and Nora had taken a beating at the hands of the giant White Fang asshole and his wife. Yang's fist tightened as she thought about what her two friends had suffered. As her thoughts turned to Fugitive and her precious sister, anger was swept aside by a torrent of anguish and worry. Fugitive had taken a direct hit from a missile. It was a miracle that he had survived. A tiny worm of doubt writhed in her gut, but Yang was going to trust her partner. Blake had been adamant that Fugitive was alive in her little chat with Ren. That helped...a miniscule amount...Ruby was still unconscious.

"Ruby is stable," the odd Penny stated calmly. "She is quite strong. We must have faith in her."

Yang nodded hollowly. "She's my baby sister. I have faith, but I want her safe _now."_

"There are ambulances on the way, Yang. We're going to get Ruby and Jaune to the hospital. They are going to be fine," Blake spoke directly to Yang for the first time since combat had ended.

"We? You aren't going to run again?" Yang questioned with a hint of bitterness.

"I'm done running, Yang. I swear," the Faunus pleaded with her partner. "I'm not going to leave Ruby, Jaune, or you. _Especially_ not now when we all need each other so much."

"Promise?" Yang _pleaded._

"Promise," the answer came with the slightest of smiles.

Yang immediately brightened and the flecks of red in her eyes faded. Tears of relief replaced the last remnants of her Semblance's visual cues as the ambulances and police arrived. Professor Goodwitch and Doctor Oobleck emerged from the lead vehicle.

As Glynda took command of the situation, Oobleck was already with Team RWBY. Weiss, normally the most formal and tradition-bound of the team, could only manage a single nod. Her concussion was really impacting her.

"Doctor Oobleck, we need to get most of RWBY and JNPR to a hospital," Blake said.

"What she said," Yang piped in. "Unless..."

"Unless we want to see why you are blacklisted by several drinking establishments in Downtown Vale...noted Miss Xiao Long. The medics are approaching now and Headmaster Ozpin has already set aside one of the wards of Beacon's Infirmary for your teams. I assure you, we are already prepared to provide all medical assistance to both teams."

Oobleck spoke a million miles per hour, but it was assuredly a comfort to RWBY. The comfort was even more pronounced as medics rushed over and began giving proper medical attention to Weiss and Ruby. Yang and Blake cast a glance over their shoulders towards where Team JNPR was receiving aid.

"That's a relief," Blake breathed. "We really need to thank you...Yang...where's Penny?"

Yang's eyes went wide. "She was just with us! Where'd she go! She saved Ruby and I _do_ need to thank her..."

The History Professor watched as one of the vehicle's taillights retreated into the night. There was something he would possibly have to investigate. That was for another time, Oobleck decided. He quickly escorted RWBY to the nearest ambulance.

_'I will have to speak to Peter about this...'_

* * *

Glynda walked alongside Ren and Pyrrha as Jaune and a protesting Nora were led into ambulances. "I promise that we will make sure Jaune and Ruby receive the best possible medical care. What you did was incredibly risky and put all of you in danger, but...it was very brave. But given what I know about all of you...I suppose it is to be suspected."

"I'm not sure I follow, Professor," Ren ground out. Everyone knew he wasn't trying to be rude, but the strain of the battle was finally pushing through the adrenaline that had sustained him.

"There is no way you would allow your friend to remain at risk. Every member of Team JNPR and RWBY did not hesitate to defend your friend. The dedication is admirable, but you are not fully trained Hunters yet. What you did, while a victory, put all of you at risk. Your team leaders have not even fully manifested their powers yet. Please, each and every member of your teams hold such promise, consider your actions carefully in the future. Remnant will need such talent and power in the future."

Glynda finished her piece and strode off. Pyrrha caught a glimpse of the odd look adorning Ren's face. "Is something wrong, Ren?"

"She said _power_ and not Semblance. It would make sense to say that Jaune hadn't manifested his Semblance. Tonight was the first time we had even given thought to Jaune's Semblance. We _know_ Ruby's Semblance. That...was not her Semblance."

The Invincible Girl hummed. "What _was_ that power? I've never seen anything remotely like it. As you said, Ruby's Semblance is quite obvious and she uses it almost instinctively."

"I don't know. It is an unreal power. All I know for sure, the energy came from her eyes. I...saw what looked like wings before I was thrown across the docks."

Pyrrha contemplated Ren's words before putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Whatever it is, our friends will help us figure it out," Pyrrha declared. She then smirked. "Would you like me to bring you a pillow for your stay in the infirmary?"

The composed member of JNPR looked at Pyrrha for a moment before grinning in return. "That would be nice. Perhaps an extra to support my arm..."

"I'll bring us both some extra pillows," Pyrrha concurred. The friends felt their spirits lifted as they tried, as best as their injured and exhausted bodies would permit, to catch up with Team RWBY.

As RWBY and JNPR were whisked away in the ambulances and the police began their investigation, Glynda pulled out her Scroll and contacted Professor Ozpin.

"Yes, Glynda?" Ozpin asked. He had poured espresso. That...was never a good sign.

"Sir, Teams RWBY and JNPR have been recovered. Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose are in the most severe state. However, they will likely make a full recovery," the disciplinarian explained.

"That is excellent news. I have such high hopes for all of them."

"Sir..." Glynda weighed her words carefully.

"Speak, Glynda. You know I will give your report my full attention and trust."

The subordinate professor chewed at her lip. "Sir, _they activated."_

Silence reigned.

"Are you certain?" Ozpin questioned. "Glynda, I need you to be _sure."_

"Sir, I have no reason to doubt the report of Lie Ren."

"Thank you, Glynda." Ozpin's tone illustrated the finality of the statement. Truthfully, Ozpin had no need to hear his equerry's statement. He had _access_ to a great deal of information. The footage had been damaged by the battle, the aggressive use of Miss Nikos's Semblance, the arrival of the Atlas...'huntress', and most notably Ruby's Power. Still, one required as much information as possible. Now, Beacon's Headmaster looked at the clockwork mechanisms of his office and smiled. He hadn't expected Ruby to unlock her Silver Eyes so soon. Better yet, the power had been unlocked without losing any of Ozpin's other 'projects'. RWBY and JNPR had performed beyond expectations.

_'Perhaps, I_ can _take more direct action...'_ Ozpin weighed his options. Regardless, his simpler soul had the perfect aegis.

The message ping of his Scroll drew Ozpin back to the here and now.

_From Qrow: Queen has pawns._

There was no doubt that the message was troubling. However, Ozpin now had Rooks, Knights, and Bishops at his command.

_'Yes, perhaps it is time to risk more direct action after all,'_ Ozpin decided. _'And perhaps, I do not have only one_ honest soul _but several...'_


	9. Hiatus Annoucement

**Hiatus Notice:**

I hate when writers do this, but I do believe you all shouldn't be left in the lurch. I'm putting all my RWBY stories on hiatus for the foreseeable future. There are several reasons for my departure.

First, I haven't been hugely thrilled with the direction of canon RWBY. Volume 4 and Volume 5 have been disappointing. V4, I gave a mulligan to. It was the first volume rendered in Maya and post-Monty. The volume… felt as though it was treading water. Volume 5 started with promise, but once it it hit the house… Everything just felt stalled. Instead of addressing the Pyrrha-shaped elephant in the room… we got BIIIIIIIIIIIIIRDS. Not to say there _weren't_ great moments in V4 and V5, but the sense of stalling and other issues outweighed them from me.

Second, there is a lot of toxicity in this fanbase. I'm not a member of the subreddit, but even I know about the bumblebee song incident. It dragged the VAs into the mess. Then there was the AMA and how Miles is hestiant to write Jaune scenes because of the chorus of "He's an SI!" unwarranted criticism. I've also never seen so much cucking/NTR in a fandom. 90% of it is trolling of Arkos. I have never seen any other pairing targeted in the same manner. Speaking of which, you may have noticed that "Extra Curricular" is gone. That's no coincidence. I tried writing NTR. Damn near threw up. Deleted everything I had worked on past the first chapter. If "Extra Curricular" comes back, it will probably be a mix of lemons and slice of life oneshots… and exclusively Arkos.

The final reason is somewhat connected to the previous. The last straw in my decision to step back from this fandom is my experiences on a fairly well known RWBY, primarily Jaune, centric server. I met some great people on that server and had some good times. However, I never felt that Arkos and Pyrrha was a welcomed topic by a vocal portion of the members. I can name several moments where Pyrrha and/or Arkos were painted in a negative light where even mentioning Pyrrha was unnecessary. I'm not going to dredge up more dirty laundry about those incidents in public. The final straw, however, was on Valentine's Day. There was a massive amount of meme-ing about Pyrrha being dead. A message to the two members who were responsible for **all of it** : I get it. Pyrrha's dead. There was also a good bit of spamming Pyrrha cucking Jaune art. For two people who are 'indifferent', their actions gave proof to that lie. But the real reason I left? It was blatant trolling and most of the mods were as indifferent as the agitators claimed to be. Granted with the state of flux due to a semi-vacuum of leadership that existed, I should not have been surprised.

Now for the tl;dr version of this, I'm stepping back. My Naruto fic and Chains of the Kindred fans will be happy to know I'm going to focus on those fandoms for a while. I'll be looking at whether or not I'm coming back to RWBY. Thanks to two new servers I'm apart of… it's looking like I will be back eventually. I'm not sure if my current fics will remain as they are. Some, such as Beacon: Academy and In Vino Veritas will most certainly remain unchanged. Sanctum Days is _likely_ to remain as is. Extra Curricular will be rebuilt from the ground up. Jaune Appetit… I'm debating.

I can promise you'll never see a color-swapped Weiss becoming some kind of thirsty mirror inverted… thing in any of them.

Sorry for being salty at the end, but I do hope I'll be energized by this hiatus and return. In the meantime, if you want to support some awesome Arkos writers, I suggest the following:

Smstanton of "4 Years at Beacon"  
Solora Goldsun of many fics  
soulfulbard of many fics  
WarrenDSherman: of "From Embers to Dust" and great Artwork. He is responsible for the cover to "In Vino Veritas"  
Harmonious Arkos Sloth: of "Product Placement" and "Blame Discord!" fame.

I am sorry to disappoint you all, but this is something I feel is warranted. I need to determine if I should continue as I was. Who knows? I may break down in a week thanks to my actual Discord friends and start writing and building up a backlog. However, I will probably not be back to RWBY fics until May at the earliest. As to when I start writing? I'm not sure. I will not be putting my fics up for adoption at this time. If you see any of my RWBY fics reposted during this hiatus, they are not authorized and I will be reporting them.

 


End file.
